I am Number Four: Earth 2
by Back2backAgain
Summary: This is a different place. Here, Lorien was never destroyed. Here, the Ten were never sent to Earth. Here, they have been allowed to grow under the watchful eye of Lorien's protectors, the Elders. But all of that is about to change. As different as this world is from the one you know, one thing will always remain the same: the Ten are being hunted. Welcome to Earth 2.
1. Chapter 1

**(Disclaimer: No, I don't own the Lorien Legacies series or any of these characters…I wish I did.)**

**1**

Four

My feet pound against the ground as I dash through the forest, just a blur to everything around me. Branches whip back with exaggerated slowness, birds fly lazily overhead. The forest and earth merges together, streamlining past the edges of my vision. My heart beats rapidly, ready to burst out of my chest, and my breaths come in ragged, heaving gasps. I'm bone tired, but above all, it's exhilarating. I haven't run this fast in ages. I'm having the time of my life.

I'm also about to be torn to shreds.

Out of the corner of my eye I see another blur zipping through the forest, leaving a trail of wrecked trees in its wake. It keeps pace with me, slowly gaining ground. As I weave in and out of the trees it simply bursts through them, shattering the trunks into millions of splinters and dust.

The delayed sound of a wolf's howl reaches my ears and I'm inspired to put on another burst of extra speed. I'm now going so fast that the world slows down and literally seems to stand still. The blur beside me gradually falls back until it's well behind me again. Once again it's just me and the vast wilderness of Lorien. A bead of sweat brews across my forehead and I waste precious time to wipe it off. Every second of distance between me and the pack matters. In that single second I slow down enough to hear the wolves' excited howls once more. The blur starts to catch up again, racing beside me. I sprint forward, ducking under branches and tearing through bushes. At one point I even jump over a fallen log. My feet protest loudly when they hit the ground, sore from my constant sprinting, but I keep moving forward. There's nothing to do now but keep running.

The trees clear in a split instant and the ground below me drops suddenly. I'm sliding down a sharply angled cliff, more falling than running. I freeze for a moment in surprise and panic, but I push myself to my feet before I tumble off into the dizzying abyss. The blur finally rushes past me, not even concerned with the sharp angle. I grit my teeth and struggle to find solid footing as I tumble down, but it's nearly impossible. I can hear the wolves' howls at my back when I finally manage to prop myself up. I push myself even harder than before, running so fast that gravity doesn't even affect me. The ground starts to even out, and I leap from the wall, finally back on level ground.

I turn back over my shoulder, hoping to see the pack tumbling to its death, or perhaps pausing uncertainly at the cliff's edge, but there's no such luck. There they are, streaming down behind me, rolling over each other in free fall, but coming after me nonetheless. I catch a glint of their crazed eyes and rolling tongues locked inside their snarling jaws before I spin and start running again. For the millionth time I try communicating with them telepathically, telling them I'm their friend, not enemy, but I keep on getting the same overpowering blanket over their thoughts.

I grit my teeth in frustration and sprint forward, trying to put some distance between myself and the rapidly advancing pack. I've once more entered the dense forest, and I have to place my feet carefully to avoid tripping over the multitude of tree roots and snagging branches. The blur comes into view and soon we're level again. I'm just jumping over the crest of a small hill when I feel my feet pulled out from under me by an invisible force on the last step. The blur roars ahead, and I stumble and hit the ground hard, and roll straight into a tree. My velocity from the run hurls me against its side, and I feel the wood crack against my body. The tree literally explodes as I'm hurled through it, and I watch as millions of tiny fragments billow out from me in slow motion. I feel a jagged edge of the blown away trunk graze against my bare, exposed back, and I cry out. I hit the ground and my back howls out in pain. When I put my hand to it, it comes away red with blood.

The worlds reverts back to real time as I scramble back to my feet, staggering under the pain. The hair on my back stands up and I reel myself around just in time, speeding myself up just as the pack leaps for me. They slow down in mid-air, reaching out with wild claws, their matted fur pressed against their bony ribcages. Even sped up, I only have enough time to hurl one off to the left with my telekinesis before they're on me. I jab my fist at the lead one, knocking it senseless and lift my right forearm to deflect another. I flinch in pain as it sinks its teeth deep into my skin. I stagger back, but fling my arm out, hurling the wolf deep into the forest. A small arc of red droplets follow my movement, splattering the nearby leaves. I have just enough time to hear the crack of the tree branches as it lands before I'm off again, scrambling away from the pack before I can sustain any more injuries.

I put a hand on my arm as I duck through the forest, hastily trying to stop the bleeding in my sped-up perception of time before I lose too much blood. I'm worried the bite might have pierced an artery, in which case I seriously need to get to the clearing where my Chest is hidden as soon as possible. I can hear the pack tearing through the forest behind me, and I occasionally use my telekinesis to hurl stray branches or rocks through the forest into their path. From the few yelps I hear behind me I can guess that my attempts are at least somewhat successful. The ground below my feet to starts to level out and clear up, the trees in front of me stating to slightly thin. I must be near the clearing: the last checkpoint of this stupid exercise. Encouraged by the idea of the finish line dangling in front of me, I put on one wild, final burst of speed, desperately trying to put some distance between myself and the pack. Once more the world seems to pause, and I rip through the forest at a breakneck pace. The blur takes shape ahead of me and then falters as I race past it.

A few seconds later I'm struck by dazzling rays of light from Lorien's twin suns. I'm standing in a small, low, grassy clearing, devoid of any trees, with a low rocky wall and cave on one side. I put my hands on my knees and hunch over. I know I only have twenty seconds before the pack is on me, tops, but I appreciate this short moment of rest after the exhausting sprint. Suddenly the blur materializes, and I hear a voice.

"Damn, Four. I thought I had you back there."

I turn to see Number Nine panting beside me, but smiling all the same, "Maybe you really are faster than me after all. I think that's the first time I've lost a race." He says, shaking his head.

"Jerk." I mutter.

Nine just laughs and pulls the Xiathris from the waistband of his pants and tosses it to me, his eyes glinting, "I've heard it all before, bro. I'm sorry I tripped you, I just wanted to make it a bit more interesting."

"Interesting like this?" I snap at him, turning to show him my back and forearm, but just then the twelve or fifteen so wolves burst through the thicket, snarling as they leap into the clearing. Nine and I immediately spin back to back as they surround us but he flinches, when he feels my bare back, slick with blood and sweat.

"Eugh, man. How'd you get that?"

I take my eyes off the wolves just long enough to glance back at him, "You tripped me."

"Dang, bro. Seriously, man, I didn't know the fall would cut you up like that. I'm sorry, man."

"It's okay," I reply tersely, eying the wolves circling us, "We've got bigger things to worry about."

I tighten my fists and feel Nine tense up against me as the wolves start to circle in closer. A large, ash-coated male snarls and the rest follow his lead, growling lowly.

"I think the big grey one's the pack leader." I murmur softly. Nine nods and flicks his long black hair out of his face.

"You picking up anything from them?" I whisper.

"Nothing," he replies, "It's like they're brain-dead or something."

"Or someone doesn't want us listening in."

"Lupa." Nine growls and I nod in agreement.

The wolves growl and tighten their net even further at the mention of her name. They're now close enough that if I took just two steps out I could hit them. It makes me wonder why they haven't attacked yet.

"Why haven't they attacked yet? They're just circling us."

Nine gets a dangerous smile on his face, "They're waiting for something."

"What?"

"Us." he growls as he throws himself forward, tackling the pack leader to the ground. The pack reacts instantly, surging forward toward them. I hurl some into the air with my telekinesis and dive toward the rest, trying to take their attention away from Nine and the alpha male wrestling in the dirt. Unfortunately, it works, and they turn towards me, hackles raised.

I try to keep moving as much as I can, dodging through the air past snapping jaws and swinging claws. I roll underneath one wolf as it leaps for me and land a wild punch on another as I come up. I see its eyes glaze over just before it goes flying to the edge of the clearing. I spin and deflect a wolf's lunge in mid-air with telekinesis, stopping it inches from my throat. It grunts as it hits the ground, but I'm already gone, dodging the wolves' flashing teeth with my enhanced speed. I briefly catch a glimpse of Nine wrestling the pack leader to the ground, his bare back plastered with sweat. The wolf writhes on the ground, tearing long gashes in Nine's forearms, and then my view is obscure by another wolf lunging at me. I grunt as my back hits the floor, flaring with agony, and struggle to hold off the wolf's muzzle with one hand. I drive my palm into its throat, stunning it, and shove it aside.

The rest of the pack jumps at me as soon as I'm exposed, and I go down under a writhing mass of teeth and fur. I just barely manage to get a telekinetic field around myself before my senses are dominated by hands and thrashing, frenzied fur. The weight forcibly drives me into the ground and my field flickers for just an instant, allowing one of them to inflict a shallow cut across my exposed chest. I suck my teeth in pain and close my eyes, struggling to maintain the field. I grit my teeth and narrow my brow in concentration, then push my field out wards in a sudden burst. A miniature, invisible explosion, with me at the center; wolves go flying in all directions, and I suck in a deep breath as I'm suddenly freed from assailing teeth and limbs. I've just jumped to my feet and swatted another wolf to the ground when I an earsplitting crack rings out.

I turn to see Nine sitting in the center of the clearing, breathing heavily, with blood and sweat pouring down his forehead. He has a long, thin cut down his side, but his hands are gripping the split jaw of the dead pack leader. He takes a deep breath and sits back, letting the body fall lifelessly to the ground, its jaw positioned at an unnatural angle. The reaction is immediate: every single wolf in the clearing whimpers and start to slink away, their tails between their legs. Within seconds they're all gone, disappeared into the far-reaching forests of Lorien.

I shakily stand up, my limbs creaking in protest. My back hurts like hell, and my arm has gone numb, but I can't help but smile at the sheer exhilaration of triumphing over the odds. I slowly walk over to Nine, picking my way through dead carcasses, and extend my hand. He looks up and gratefully accepts it, and I haul him to his feet. We both just stand there, surveying the carnage around us. Blood trickles from the wound in his forehead, drying in his pitch black hair, and his arms are hanging in strips, but he's wearing the same crazy, exhilarated smile I am.

"Well…" I say, drawing the word out.

"…that was fun." He finishes for me.

**A/N Please, if you have time, review! This is my first story, so I'd love any feedback.**


	2. Chapter 2

**(Disclaimer: No, I don't own the Lorien Legacies series or any of these characters. But it would be totally awesome if I did.)**

**2**

Four

Nine and I wearily search through a shallow cave embedded in the low, rocky wall I had spotted earlier. Lupa had told us that our Chests would be here, at the last checkpoint. I briefly wonder how mad she'd be if she found out that we took the Xiathris with us. This exercise was supposed to test us without our Inheritance, but she had told us in her letter that we'd only be allowed to take one item from one of our Chests. Nine had wanted to bring his sustenance cube, but I'd argued that the Xiathris would be more practical. Neither of us had refused to give up our argument, so Nine had suggested we bend the rules a little.

Nine breaks up my thoughts by waving and calling me over. He's discovered a deep niche in one of the walls of the cave where our Chests are hidden. We slide them out with our telekinesis and let them hover in mid-air. I pull out the crystal Brandon gave me before we left and place it against one side of the lock. I then put my hand on the other and concentrate. The crystal shatters apart, sprinkling the cave floor with tiny fragments, and the lock clicks open.

Usually our Chests can only by us and our Cêpan together, but the crystal I had just used had been imbued with Brandon's blessing, which let me open it on my own, but just once. Brandon is my Cêpan, a member of the group that manages the government and structure of Lorien. They make sure that the planet runs smoothly in its day-to-day life. At a certain age, whenever a Cêpan is deemed ready, they are assigned to mentor a Garde. Nine and I are members of the Garde, members of race blessed with powers from Lorien itself. Our job is to protect the planet and maintain order. It's the perfect system: one group to run the planet, another to defend it.

I lean down and put my Chest on the ground and pop open the lid. I put the Xiathris inside, all of its energy spent. I take out my dagger and water cube, then push my Chest over to the side, still open in case I need something later tonight. I wouldn't want to close it and not be able to get it open again.

I look over at Nine, who's rummaging through his Chest for his healing stone, and hold up my dagger, "You think I could skin a wolf with this?"

He looks over, "What, you want wolf biscuits for dinner? Sure, bro, go for it. I'll do the cooking myself."

I shrug. We've been living off berries and Nine's sustenance cube for the past week. I think it'd do some good if we got some actual food in our bellies, even if wolf isn't the most commonly prepared meal. Nine's finally found his healing stone, and I watch him as he holds it up to the cut on his forehead, clenching his teeth in pain. The cut slowly flows together and he moves the black rock down to his forearms. I watch silently. Healing stones come in handy, but they cause double the pain of the wound originally inflicted and can only be used shortly after the wound has been inflicted; you couldn't wait an hour. They also only work on wounds inflicted with the intent to cause pain, so if I accidently cut myself I'd be stuck with it. It has its drawbacks, but I'd rather take it than human's primitive medicine. Once Nine's done he tosses the stone to me. It's too late for my back and forearm, but I use it to clear the cut on my chest and the other multiple scrapes and bruises from the fight.

I stand and hand it back to Nine, along with my dagger, "How about you go outside and start dinner while I get a fire going."

He stands and smiles, taking both items, "What, no please? What am I, free labor?"

"Worse," I say with a mischievous glint in my eyes, "Slave labor."

He snorts and heads outside, throwing his hands up in disgust, but I can tell he knows I'm joking. Lorien hasn't had slaves in any of its provinces for thousands of years. I smile and follow him outside.

Nine's already in the center of the clearing, picking through the dead wolves, trying to find a body that's mostly intact. I walk to the edge of the field, shadowed by the forest's tall pines. I spend several minutes in silence collecting firewood, simply enjoying the time alone to think. I'm still a bit irked by Nine's earlier prank, but out here, in the wilderness of Lorien, it's easy to put everything aside when I'm surrounded by so much beauty. It's so peaceful here it's hard to believe that I was fighting for my life mere minutes ago.

I carry my first load of firewood into the cave and then go back out for a second. I walk back outside one last time to gather twigs and other easily flammable material, then position it around the cave entrance.

When I walk back in Nine's looking at me, the question already forming on his lips, when I say, "In case the wolves come back." He nods in understanding.

I move to the center of the cave, and find that Nine's already made a fire pit for me. It's a rare act of kindness from him, but I accept the unspoken apology silently, my earlier irritation melting away. I crouch down beside it, dumping my load of firewood, and set aside three stout branches that can be used as torches later in the night. I get to work building a structure for the fire, and when I'm ready, I lightly shine my Lumen over it, ushering the fire into existence with a few crackles and pops. I quietly feed the fire, Nine and I falling into a companionable silence.

I methodically tend to the flames, letting my thoughts wander. I briefly wonder what Six is doing right now, then blush despite myself. I'm grateful Nine hasn't developed a Legacy that allows him to read minds. He'd tease me mercilessly if he knew how much I thought about her. I smile nervously at his imaginary antics and then turn my attention towards my parents, my mind reaching out towards a distant memory.

It was now two years since I had developed my Lumen, my first Legacy. I can still remember it as clear as if it had only happened earlier today. I'd spent the entire day with my parents, a rare occasion. Loric children are usually raised by their grandparents while our parents use the time to hone their Legacies to perfection. Overall, we spend maybe about a month with them, spread out through the year. And of course we see them at the Festival of the Twin Suns. While I can't help but acknowledge the practicality of the system, it still frustrates me that I barely get to see them. I can tell my father feels the same way; he'd used to come over almost all the time until he was personally reprimanded by the Elders.

We'd been sitting under an old oak tree that still grows in our back yard, me and my dad watching my mom. She was using her Legacy that granted her control over nature to "sing" a carving out of the tree. I'm still not sure how she did it, I only know that it's supposed to be extremely difficult. I had simply sat there, mesmerized by her voice and beauty, watching her ordering the tree to take shape. When she had stepped back I had gazed into an exact replica of me and my father, leaning against the tree, smiling peacefully.

I had stepped forward and lightly ran my hand across the smooth bark, "It's beautiful."

My mother had smiled as she stepped forward and put her arms around me from behind, "Just like you. You and your father will always be the most precious thing to me, above all, even all the treasures in the world."

I had simply smiled and leaned my head against her cheek, my eyes closed in contentment. It was the perfect moment. Until my skin started tingling and I started to get a sick, burning feeling in my stomach.

My mom started petting my hair and looked at me worriedly, "Four? Honey, are you all right? You feel hot."

I leaned against her, trying not to ruin the otherwise perfect day, "I'm fine, Mom. I just feel a bit…weird."

My father walked over and put a hand to my forehead, then frowned, "Four? Are you sure you're okay? You're really burning up."

"I just need a minute." I heaved.

I stumbled away from my mother's arms and leaned against the tree, my head against the trunk. My mom instantly rushed forward and put a hand on my back, making soothing noises, while my dad watched me worriedly. I felt myself start to sweat and I swallowed nervously. _What the hell was happening to me?_ I lifted my hand to wipe my forehead and froze.

A beam of pure, blinding light was emitting from my palm, flickering lightly. All three of us gasped and I stared at my hand in disbelief. Not once did I ever even consider the possibility that I might be developing a Legacy. It's so stupidly obvious that I weakly laugh at myself in disbelief. My mom puts a hand on my shoulder and silently points at my other hand. I look up to see a soft burning ring of fire slowly spiraling out from my palm, and I instantly yank my hand away, revealing a smoldering handprint.

I stare at my glowing hands in shock, my mom grabbing me and holding me tightly, laughing, while the fire slowly spreads. My father puts it out by summoning a light rain, then turns to me and clasps my hands in his, partially smothering the glare. I look up into his warm, crinkled eyes and see him give me a wide smile, which I weakly return.

"We're damn proud of you, son. Lorien has recognized your heart. You're one of us now."

I smile at the memory. I can remember running over to Six's house almost right after, so excited to show her. It been totally unfair-she'd developed her first legacy way before me, and I'd had to wait nearly half a year for mine. The endless-

"What?" Nine asks, cutting into my thoughts.

"Huh?" I say, not comprehending.

He pokes me with the handle of my dagger, "I said, what? You're smiling like a stupid goof. I want to know why."

"Nothing." I say, shrugging.

Nine raises one eyebrow, a trick I've unsuccessfully tried to master, "You're thinking about Six, aren't you?"

"What? No!" I sputter, my face red.

Nine laughs, assuming from my reaction that he's right, "Yep," he says, drawing the word out, "Called it."

"Oh, come on," I snap, "Like you're not drooling over One at any chance you get."

Nine chokes and looks up at me with hurt eyes, "Hey," he says in an indignant voice, "I thought I asked you not to talk about that."

"Please," I snort, "Like you ever listen when I say that."

"Yeah," Nine replies, his cockiness back in full force, "But that's _you_. Your love life is a free firing range, with no penalties."

I shake my head, and then pause a moment before asking my next question, "I'm not that obvious, am I?"

"Nah, man. I only know cause you told me. I bet she has no idea."

"Oh, gee, thanks, buddy. Way to build me up."

"I meant it as a compliment, bro. You're cautious. Scoping out the field before you make your move. Stealthy."

"I'm not sure how to respond to that." I say slowly.

Nine smirks as he uses his telekinesis to hover a flat stone over the fire, slowly turning it cherry red, "Then don't. Now get over here and lay out some of this meat on this rock. I don't want to burn myself."

"What, you can't use your telekinesis?"

"I'll 'accidently' drop yours in the fire."

"Maybe I like my meat well done."

"Maybe you do, but you don't want to argue about it all night, so you're gonna get your butt over here."

I sigh and lean over and place the strips on the rock without even flinching when my fingers drag over its burning surface. It's an advantage of my Lumen: I'm now invulnerable to practically every form of heat. I also have limited control over fire, though I'm still trying to control that one. The meat sizzles, and my stomach growls hungrily. After a few minutes, when Nine deems them ready, he gestures for me to take them off. He divides them up between us, hands me a flat rock, then tears into the food hungrily. I proceed more slowly, not wanting to stuff myself. The meat tastes a bit bland, but after running well over 100 miles today and eating berries for a week, it tastes like a gourmet meal. Within a minute Nine and I have finished off the entire animal, and I'm left staring at my empty plate. Nine leans back and belches, his eyes closed in a half-smile.

I look over at him and give a lazy smile, "That was actually pretty good."

Nine comes up to his knees and gives a mock bow with a flourish, "Trust the chef."

I lean back against the cave wall, "Iron chef quality."

Nine opens one eye and looks at me quizzically, not understanding the reference.

"It's a TV show," I explain, "From Earth."

Nine gives a short peal of laughter, and wipes his eyes, "Oh man, you actually watch those things they send us? A bunch of little videos sent from Earth so we can learn about their culture, one of the most pathetic places in the entire galaxy, and you actually watch them? Everyone just tosses those things in the trash! We're on Lorien, man. There's way better things to do here than waste time watching some stupid show _humans_ sent us."

"It's interesting," I defend myself, "Not just that one, but most of them. They're like our Cêpans, but not as disciplined. They're more relaxed, loose. Some of them are actually pretty funny. They're _different_ from us, Nine. That's why they're so interesting."

"Yet you're still probably the only person I've ever met who actually watches that crap."

"Six does too," I say stiffly, "Same with Two and Three. Two even has some actual books from their planet."

"Ooooh," Nine says, "Six does it. That's why."

My face goes red, "Seriously, Nine. Back off."

He stands up and stretches, "All right, all right. I just don't want you going soft on me, that's all. You take a little nap while I take first watch. Maybe you can count Chimæra in your sleep."

I glare at him, but he simply gives me a mocking wave and walks outside. I sag back once he's gone. Truth is, I'm so tired I don't really feel like arguing with him. I'm more than happy to just lay down here on the rocky floor and fall asleep near the dying embers of the fire. But sleep doesn't come easily to me, and even then, it's plagued with troubled dreams.

When I open my eyes I'm in the middle of a dark forest, chained to a tree. The woods feel dark and unnatural, not at all like the beauty of Lorien, and I struggle furiously to get free. I try ripping apart the chains with my telekinesis or enhanced strength, and even try to burn through the tree with my Lumen, but nothing works. My Legacies have abandoned me. I swallow down a flood of panic, but simply it comes bubbling up again as soon as I start to hear long, hoarse screams, mixing into one hair-raising, horrendous wail. I recognize the voices of Six, Nine, and the other Ten calling out to me. I can even hear my parents. I close my eyes and jerk back against my prison, trying to distance myself from their screams. Tears race down my cheeks, and I know somehow, with complete certainty that we are all going to die alone, and there's nothing I can do to save us. The despair lurches through my entire being, turning me into a fragile shell holding my fragmented spirit together. I've drawn deep within myself, oblivious to anything but the pain and despair, until a rough hand grabs me.

I gasp as I'm jolted out of the black pit of despair, and my previous feelings are replaced with an overwhelming sense of fear so strong that it makes me want to curl up in a ball in the corner of the most isolated cell on Lorien. I open my eyes and freeze: before me stands a large, monstrous, muscled figure. His long black trench coat sways in the slight breeze, obscuring my vision and containing all of my attention, dispersing any of my previous ailments, replacing them with only awe. He's easily seven feet tall, bigger than almost anyone else I've ever seen. I catch a glimpse of short, cropped black hair and a hard, chiseled jaw before my eyes are drawn to the long, jagged, glowing dagger he raises to the night sky. My eyes widen as he brings it down, trailing a faint glow of white light, but he merely cuts through my bonds. I stumble forward and he catches me, supporting my weight easily.

I look up into his dark eyes as his deep voice rumbles across the shallow clearing, sending tremors throughout the ground, "Number Four. I've gone through hell to talk to you, boy."

He leans down and grasps my shoulders urgently, unconsciously shaking me like a rag doll, "You have to go. You HAVE to be ready. You can't trust anyone. Do you hear me, boy? They are ALL your enemies. Even now they betray you!"

He steps closer, "And that's not all. We're coming, Number Four. You have to stop us, or we'll destroy your world and everything you hold dear."

"What?" I sputter, my knees weak, "I don't understand."

He's about to reply when a long guttural howl sounds from the shadows. I feel my skin go cold and my heart clenches with fear. I know I don't want to face what's coming, I simply want to speed off in the opposite direction, running for ever and ever, until I drop dead. It's only by focusing on the man before me that I can keep myself from running. He spins towards the noise, shoving me behind him, and then looks back at me with urgency in his eyes. He draws his dagger from the folds of his coat.

"They're here. They've found us. Both of us. I'll try to reach you in time, but they have a head start. Some of them are almost certainly at your home even as we speak. You have to make the journey. You have to prepare yourself."

My vision starts to go black, and I call out desperately, "Wait! Please! I don't understand!"

He turns towards me one last time, and I catch a glimpse of something terrible slowly proceeding towards us from the shadows, "Wake up!"

He shoves me again, and suddenly I'm falling through the earth into a pit of shadows, rapidly racing towards reality. I bolt upright, panting, in the middle of the cave. The feeling of panic and urgency that stayed with me throughout the dream remains here in reality, and I remember the man's warning. My heart racing, I stumble outside.

Nine turns to me, confusion written across his face, "Four? What's-"

I shove him aside and thrust out my hand, shining my Lumen into the dead silence of the night. Light splays from my hand, revealing the wolf pack silently streaming towards us.

**A/N Once again, this is my first story, so please review! Also, just a hint, the man from the dream isn't an OC…**


	3. Chapter 3

**(Disclaimer: They do say third time's the charm. Unfortunately for me, it didn't work and I still don't own the Lorien Legacies series or any of these characters.) **

**3**

Four

Nine is all business, immediately using his telekinesis to hurl the wolves into the night sky, while I ignite the ring of fire around the cave entrance. The flames leap and roar, cutting us off from the pack. They stumble back, barely avoiding incinerating themselves, and growl. I can feel their frustration, even through the barrier blocking me from their thoughts.

I stand back behind the wall of fire, illuminating the night. I spread my hands and the glow from my Lumen lights up the entire clearing, revealing even more wolves. I'm not sure where they came from, but there's easily over a hundred. The flames flicker, reflecting in their dark eyes. All of them deadly predators, focused only on tearing us to shreds.

Nine and I continue to blast the pack with telekinetic bursts, sending them skidding across the ground, but more and more keep on pouring out from the forest. I know Nine and I won't be able to keep this up forever, and soon enough the fire will go out, putting us in danger of a wild charge. But there's no way out except…

I put a hand on Nine's arm and he turns towards me, not even pausing in his motionless assault on the pack, "There's too many to fight."

He shrugs, "Why not? We can take 'em." Another wolf goes flying through the dark.

"Nine," I say tersely, "There's at least a hundred wolves out there, more pouring in by the second. We fought maybe _fifteen_ earlier. I won't be able to keep this fire up forever. Eventually they're going overwhelm us. We can't win against these odds without getting some kind of serious injury, and as soon as we turn our backs for our healing stones it'll all be over."

Nine frowns, "But if we grab them now, while they're held at bay?"

I shake my head, "And then what happens we lose them dodging through this mess and have to leave them behind? I don't know about you, but I'd rather not run through the forest with a broken leg."

Nine deflates, momentarily forgetting his attack on the wolves, and throws his arms out, "Then what are we supposed to do?" he cries out, "Look around you! There's no way out of this except ripping every single last one of them to shreds! Come on, man! There's no other option here except fight or lie down and die!"

I smile and point up at the rocky wall hanging above the cave entrance, "Yes, there is. Climb."

Nine slowly breaks into an awed smile and gives a wild laugh, "You crazy son of a bitch. I told you you were sneaky! I told you!"

My smile widens and I run inside to grab our Chests. When I come back out the flames are slowly starting to die out, withering to the ground. I know we won't have long before they're gone completely and the pack is on us.

I give Nine his Chest and hold my fist out, "For luck."

He smiles and bumps it, "We won't need it. See you at the top."

I nod and put my Chest under my bad arm, then take a running leap and hurl myself up at the wall. Nine does the same. It's difficult to climb with only one hand, and the Chest under my arm only makes it harder. I'm just starting to doubt whether this will work after all, when I hear Nine laugh and grab my shoulder. I turn to see him standing on the wall as easily as it was the floor. I'd completely forgotten about his antigravity Legacy. He extends a hand, which I gratefully accept, and he pulls me up next to him, transferring his power to me.

"You idiot," he smiles, "Did you actually think we'd do this the hard way?"

I'm about to reply when a wolf gives a flying leap and snaps at our feet, missing us by less than an inch. Nine and I both yelp, and he pulls us farther up the wall. I look down to see that the flames have dwindled down to slowly dying embers and the wolves have gathered at the base of the cliff, eagerly waiting for us to fall. A group of fifty or so is tearing away from the clearing, heading off into the forest. I grab Nine's arm and point, and he nods grimly.

"They're gonna try to cut us off."

I pull at him, "Then we're going to have to get there first."

We run up the cave wall, going as fast as we can. It's a bit disorienting at first, but eventually I get used to the feeling. Thanks to Nine's antigravity Legacy we're standing at the top within less than a minute. I turn and look back over at the rising suns lighting up the vast expanse of forests, then at the ground we have to cover. Up ahead Mount Krios looms against the horizon, with the Temple of Providence balancing precariously on the summit side. It is there that Lupa had arranged for us to meet, where we could finally end this exercise.

I point ahead to the mountain, "First one to the finish line?"

Nine gives me daring smile, "You're on."

We take off at a sprint, racing to put as much distance as possible between us and the pack. We go fast, dodging in between the pillars of trees, but it still feels too slow to me. Nine's fast, faster than most of the other Ten, but nowhere near as fast as me with my Legacy. It was only when he used the Xiathris that he could keep pace with me at my best. The same stone - now depleted of power - is stuck inside my Chest, which I can't even open without Brandon.

"Keep running." I tell him, then zoom ahead.

I dash through the forest to the edge of the cliff, and then run alongside the wall until I spot the wolf pack pounding along in the ravine below us. At the pace they're going, they might reach the mountain pass before us. I'm about to race away when something catches my eye, and I pause. I squint and peer closer, struggling to see clearly through the glare of Lorien's twin suns. I slow myself down as much as possible so that the wolves are basically walking, granting me an unobstructed view. Then I recognize it: every single one of the wolves in the valley below me is an exact replica of the pack leader from yesterday. The broad shoulders, ash coat, they're all the same. This is no natural wolf pack.

I race back to tell Nine, startling him when I seemingly appear out of the middle of nowhere, "We've got a problem."

"What?" he pants as we run.

"At the pace we're going, they're going to reach the pass first. We have to speed up. And that's not all. I think Lupa's messing with us, Nine. Every single one of those wolves down there is the exact same. Remember the pack leader yesterday?"

"No," Nine snorts, picking up the pace, "I just forgot about the crazy beast that mauled me half to shreds. Why would I remember him?"

"Seriously. They're all him. Every single one. This can't be natural."

"No duh. Put it on the record that Lupa is officially messing with us."

We continue plowing forward, Nine moving at a much faster pace, but still frustratingly slow to me. We race past fallen trees and short hills, both aware of the pack following hungrily. We have a very short window; the pack could easily reach the mountain before us and block us off from the pass, trapping us. Even if we do manage to get there first it's sure to be close.

The ground is starting to climb and Mount Krios is practically looming on top of us when Nine breaks the silence, "How did you know the wolves were coming?"

I pause. A part of me is reluctant to share the details of my dream, especially to someone like Nine, who scoffs at anything that doesn't fit into his view of life. I can already picture his reaction: doubling over with laughter and asking if I needed mommy to tuck me in next time. Or maybe he'd suggest I sleep with a night light. In the end, I simply decide to shrug it off.

"I just woke up with this feeling. You know, when the hair on your back just stands at an edge?"

Luckily Nine accepts my explanation and doesn't press me further, instead simply saying, "Well it's damn lucky you woke up when you did. I wouldn't have seen them until they were on top of me, and by then we'd both be breakfast."

I nod and duck as a low-hanging tree branch Nine swiped aside comes flinging back at me with full force. It had been easy to forget the details of the dream earlier this morning with all the excitement, but now that Nine's unknowingly brought it up again it occupies my mind, a massive elephant bellowing to be heard and focused on. There's simply too many strange things about for me to make sense of though. I have no idea who the man was, or even where I was. He was obviously trying to tell me something important, but he'd never made it exactly clear what it was, only that I was in danger. I briefly indulged myself in a fantasy where he simply explained everything up front, starting with his name. _Hi Four, I'm Bennie, and I'm here to tell you all about this big bad thing coming your way. I know I look all scary and all with this knife and coat, but don't worry! I'm harmless!_ I smile to myself and picture my reaction if things had actually gone that way. I probably wouldn't have believed a word of it.

We're close to the entrance now. Snow lightly starts to cover the frosted ground and tall walls of rock tower up around us on both sides, boxing us in on our narrow path to the mountain. A handful of Chimæra drinking from a small stream look up at us as we pass by, tearing up a drift of snow in our wake. Seeing them reminds me of Hadley, waiting for me back at home, and I'm filled with a sudden determination to beat Lupa at her own little game. Struck by the sudden impulse, I turn and throw Nine over my shoulders, and he gives out a surprised yelp. It's awkward with one of my hands occupied with holding my Chest, but I manage. He says something, but it's lost in the noise of the wind as I race forward with my Legacy, breaking the sound barrier within seconds. The ice is slippery under my bare feet and the cold air stings my skin, but I plow forward. I'm so focused on getting to the pass that I don't even notice when Nine pries himself from my grasp. He hits the bank of snow beneath us, letting out a small oof. I run alone for a small moment when I realize what's happened, but then I circle back and pick him up again before he's even made it to his feet.

He pounds my back as we run, demanding to be let go, but I can't even hear his cries above the roar of the wind whipping past my ears, flattening my sandy blond hair to my head. I can't hear Nine, but I can imagine the string of insults he's hurling at me. I smile to myself; I know he's only acting this way since he's embarrassed. It only takes a few short minutes until we reach the large clearing near the mountain, where I put Nine down, where's he clutching his Chest tightly. I gaze across the frozen expanse to the narrow pass on the other side, just a short sprint away.

Nine glares at me, "You didn't have to do that. We still might've made it."

I smirk at him, "I _know_ we wouldn't have made it."

A sharp reply is already rolling off his tongue when we catch sight of a lone wolf emerging from the forest to our right, running towards the gap between the mountains, swiftly followed by a hundred so or more. I look pointedly in Nine's direction, but he just rolls his eyes. Nine and I sprint toward the entrance, mirrored by the wolves on the other side of the clearing. Their tongues are hanging out of their mouths and spit flies from their jaws. We're both just at the mouth of the pass, and I'm about to grab Nine and dart forward with my speed again, But Nine throws his arm out at the wolves first. A massive telekinetic wave smashes into the wolves' front line sending several skidding backwards across the ice and several more crumpling to their feet. The wolves directly behind them stumble and fall over the flailing front-runners, causing even more confusion. I watch as Nine hurls one more wave at them for good measure and then we've darted into the chilly mountain pass, still pursued by fifty or so wolves.

The ground starts to incline sharply and the wind bites at our frozen skin as we emerge from the narrow mountains onto the exposed summit slope. I look up and see the path zigzagging across the mountain side, ending far above with a shattered stone bridge extending out to the Temple of Providence. The structure looks old and withered against the mountain slope, it's dark gray stone standing out against the dazzling white reflection emitting from the summit as Lorien's suns beat down overhead. The ice is slick beneath our feet, and at one point several of the wolves behind us slip and fall over the edge into the abyss below. I don't dare use my Legacy for fear that I'll slip and skid off the edge. I can tell Nine's thinking the same thing, unwilling to take his chances against the icy wall beside us with his antigravity Legacy. It wouldn't do well to run up the side only to slip and fall back down to the hungry wolves waiting below.

I can hear the pack's whines behind us, dangerously close, and I occasionally see them, down below us on some of the path's sharper turns as we ascend the mountain. At one point I even make the mistake of looking back over my shoulder. My bare feet slide against the smooth ice, desperately seeking traction, but before I can fall to the ground Nine's at my side, grabbing my arm and pulling me up. I stumble for a step or two, then resume by breakneck pace from before. I shiver at the thought of what would have happened if Nine hadn't caught me, and I picture myself falling behind only to be assaulted by the wolves, alone on the icy mountain slope. All of my thoughts come to a close when we circle the final twist in the path, exposing a clear view straight ahead to the shattered, rocky bridge built into the mountain side, littered with holes that reveal a long, icy gap between us and the temple. One final sprint, a last-ditch effort straight ahead. Nine and I lock eyes for a second, both heightened by the prospect of the finish line, then race ahead, the pack hot on our heels.

They whine and also put on an extra burst of speed, perhaps sensing that this is their last chance to catch us. But I'm confident that if we can clear the bridge, littered with gaps that surely only Nine and I could cross, then we'll finally be safe. We could go home. Everything we need to accomplish is here, within reach. Nine and I both give our all, unwilling to submit on this final obstacle. The pack tries their hardest as well; I can literally feel their breath on my the back of my neck as I dodge the crumbled sections of the bridge, leaping across small gaps in mid-sprint.

The final challenge lies ahead: a wide gap between the bridge and the last section that leads up to the temple. It's a far jump, and if Nine and I are going to cross it then we'll need all of our momentum. I shift into slow-time, then dash ahead of Nine and launch myself into the air. I feel a strong sense of vertigo as I look down the gap, echoing far down into the valley below. Then my feet hit the hard, unyielding stone and I'm rolling forward, trying to keep a grip on my Chest. I switch back to normal time and spin around just in time to see Nine racing toward me.

He has enough momentum, but on the final step, when he hurls himself forward, a wolf latches its jaw into his ankle. He cries out in pain and desperately reaches for a grip at the edge, pulling the wolf with him through the air. I shove my Chest aside and dive forward, my fingers just barely clasping around Nine's slick wrist. My muscles strain, and have to keep my grip iron tight on his arm, or else it will slide right through my grasp. Nine just barely manages to keep a hold on his Chest, then looks down at the wolf clamped onto his leg, its eyes staring hungrily up at Nine. He rips it jaws apart with telekinesis, letting it fall into the abyss, while I struggle to pull him up.

I pant as I shakily start to haul Nine over the edge, his weight almost sliding both of us into the dizzying drop below. Nine throws his Chest up beside mine and then starts to push himself up with his now free hand. Finally he's safe, and we both lay on the floor, panting.

Nine props himself up to his feet and looks over at me, "Thanks."

"No problem," I wheeze, "it would have gotten pretty boring around here without you."

"I can imagine."

We both shakily stand and grab our Chests then turn to look at the Temple, completely oblivious to the wolves' howls of frustration behind us. The Temple is built into the side of the summit, and while it looked tiny from afar, here it's huge, rivaling some of the buildings back in London. Wide domes crop up from most of the buildings, but they are all dominated by the sight of the observatory, with its massive curved ceiling and strong arches. Nine and I walk to the entrance and then stop, drinking in our success.

"We made it."

I nod wearily, "I knew we would. You ready to go inside?"

Nine smirks and holds out his arms in a sweeping gesture, "Ladies first."

"After you, then."

**A/N As always, please review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**(Disclaimer: I'm 100% human. Which means I couldn't possibly be Pittacus Lore, who owns the Lorien Legacies series and all these characters… Why can't I be a super-cool alien with super-powers who can write a kick-ass story? Damn it.)**

**4**

Four

We stand in a long hallway, stretching all the way down to the observatory doors. Several side passageways branch off into the other areas of the Temple, accented by sweeping arches mad of cold, gray stone. The ceiling is round, like half of a cylinder, gives the place a majestic feel, like we're standing in the court of some king of old. Several Loric carvings and mosaics are plastered into the walls, depicting our planet's history. But the hallway is really dominated by the massive statues of the ten Elders, each guarding an entrance. They're so lifelike, managing to capture each Elder's personality so perfectly, that I almost expect them to step down from their pedestals and walk with us the rest of the way. I'm particularly captivated by the statue of Pittacus Lore, and I swear I could feel his eyes on me as we walked down the hall, our steps making loud thumps as they pounded against the silent stone.

Nine and I pause before the double doors that tower up to the ceiling, guarding the entrance to the observatory, flanked by the statues of the first man and woman, Adan and Vakars. We look at each other, and I see my own experiences reflected in Nine's eyes. This trip has been hard as hell, but I've never felt so in touch with the nature of Lorien. In a weird way, I feel like I've finally seen the other side of my home, as if it had been split into two separate entities long ago: the raw, untamed wilderness that I've just experienced, and the home I know so well. I take a deep breath, then push open the large, bronzed doors.

The room is dark, devoid of any sunlight. It's only lamination comes from the glow of a modular galaxy floating around us, millions of stars cluster about in mid-air. The model fills the entire structure, reaching far beyond my head to the ceiling above. Miniature planets and constellations float lazily by, passing through our bodies as if we weren't even there. Below us, a two dimensional image of Lorien glows a faint green against the dark, barely outlining the dark stone around it. And in the center of the room, in the Void, the uncharted field of energy that holds the universe together, sits Lupa.

Her posture is rigid, and yet she gives every sense of ease, though her eyes tell you that she could be at your throat in an instant. She lets her auburn hair flow loosely down her back, and wears a simple, yet elegant robe, giving her a majestic look about her. With her high cheekbones and regal pose, she appears ageless, like Lorien itself. She's beautiful, yet her most striking feature is her eyes: dark gray and stormy, they seem to stare right through me, analyzing my every move, every weakness. Her mouth is slightly turned in half-smile, as if she already knows what my next move will be.

I have heard many things about this woman, while I had once doubted some of them, I know that every single one of them must be true. Everyone knows of this Elder, the one who had remained on Earth even after all the others left Greece. She had stayed, and raised two men that would eventually raise humanity's greatest empire: Rome. I'm told that even now they speak of her in their myths. I've heard all about her power, and know that she holds some of the strongest Legacies among us. Teleportation, shape-shifting, and many others - the tools of a warrior. I involuntarily shudder, her very presence affecting me. Before me stands an Elder, a leader of our race since the dawn of the Loric. Every single instinct in my body is screaming at me to bend down and bow before her, but I struggle forward, refusing to submit to her aura. Nine, after a conflicted moment of hesitation, mutely follows my lead.

She tilts her head and gazes at me, studying me, "So. You do have some fight in you."

It's a compliment, but I can't help feel as if it's more of a threat. For the first time, it occurs to me that I'm _very_ glad that we're on the same side.

She stands and sweeps her hand out, letting her fingers drift slowly through the rotating stars, "Welcome. It is unusual for the Elders to send some as young as you. You must have been strong to escape my pack."

She shifts her gaze into my eyes, and I'm struck by how much power even her stare holds, "Or clever."

"So it was you." Nine says slowly. It's not an accusation, but more as if he's asking for confirmation.

"Of course," she answers without hesitation, "I must first test my pups before they become wolves. Only the strong may survive. I can only set you on your path, you must forge your own way. But you have proven your strength, and even now stand before me without cowering. That is a rare trait."

"Thank you." I say stiffly, not sure how to respond.

She slowly walks toward us, her every movement graceful and coordinated. As she circles us, studying us again, I'm once more struck by how beautiful she is. By the way Nine's eyes are wide open, drinking in every sight of her, I can tell he's just as captivated as me, perhaps more so. She comes back around, and gently lifts a hand to trace my cheek, her eyes calculating me coldly. I unconsciously move away, and her eyes flash dangerously. Then her posture is rigid once more, and she's sweeping back to the center of the observatory.

Nine turns to me, his eyes wide, "Why'd you piss her off?" he whispers.

I don't bother responding, and instead watch Lupa. She's standing still, her fingers silently grazing a model of Lorien as it tumbles along. Though her face is turned from me, I can detect a certain tenderness about her, as though a mother comforting her child. But when she spins around, there is no trace of it.

She stands still and elegantly reaches her hands out to us, "Come. It is time to return."

Nine steps forward hesitantly, "You want us to take your hands?"

She narrows her eyes, as if she's reevaluating her opinion of him, "Obviously."

I step forward cautiously, and then grab her ice cold hand. She cups her palm lightly in mine, and then smiles just as everything starts to fade to black. For just an instant the observatory swims in and out of focus, and then, after a strong sense of vertigo, I feel as if I'm being pushed forward. Suddenly, dazzling sunlight hits my eyes, and I lift a hand to cover my face. After the dim glow of the observatory it's blinding, forcing me to squint. The hard stone is replaced with grass under my feet, and my bare back glows with warmth from the sun. London's skyline appears nearby, and I realize we're standing right next to the base of the forest. We're home.

I hear voices, and turn to see Brandon and my grandparents rushing towards us, shouting and pointing. Sandor and Nine's grandparents follow them, their faces awash in a happy glow. And there's Six. She's beaming at me, coming forward with the others, and I smile stupidly back at her.

My attention shifts when Lupa releases our hands and steps back. She bows her head and looks deep into our eyes once more, "This is where I take my leave. May Lorien light your paths, and luck be with you."

I can tell Nine's about to protest, but he freezes, his mouth hanging wide open, when she steps forward and hugs him. She then steps back and does the same to me.

As we embrace, her lips brush my ear, and I can her silently murmur, "Prove me wrong."

And then she takes another step back and disappears, gone before I can even ask what she meant.

Nine lets out a sigh and low whistle, gazing longingly at where she disappeared, "I'm gonna miss her."

"Dude," I say, disgusted, though I understand the appeal, "She's like, ten thousand years older than you."

"So?"

Whatever reply I might I have made is crushed by Brandon's massive hug. He's laughing as he reaches me, and I smile into his shoulder, dropping my Chest to the ground. My grandparents are beside me, chattering excitedly, wanting to know everything that's happened in the week I've been away. Nine's grandparents are doing the same, Sandor literally having to push them away so he can hug his Garde. My grandfather pats me on the back, and I hug my grandmother. Then I turn to Six.

She's striking, beautiful without even trying. Tanned skin and hazel eyes, with a wide mouth and strong nose. Her dark hair is flowing loosely over her shoulders, and her eyes sparkle at me with joy. Looking at her, I'm reminded how much I missed her, which leads me to remembering Nine's teasing, and a small heat floods into my cheeks. My breath constricts in my throat, and I smile weakly.

"Hey."

She smiles at me, shaking her head, "Really? You're gone for a week, the first thing you think to say is, hey? Get over here, you big idiot."

I laugh and pull her into my arms, her head resting against my bare chest. I drink in every sensation, marveling at how small her frame is, yet how powerful she is in the field. I focus on how warm her body is against mine, and stare at the smooth, silky, raven hair on top of her head. I decide with certainty that Lupa has nothing on her. She pulls back, her arms still around me, and wrinkles her nose.

"You smell."

"Seriously?" I ask, somewhat surprised.

She rolls her eyes, "Four, you're a shirtless, teenaged guy who's spent a week in the woods. You smell. You probably didn't even take a shower, did you?"

"Nine and I had to cross a river at one point." I mumble, but she just smiles patronizingly at me.

Brandon puts a hand on my shoulder, causing Six to pull away, and smiles. He's shaved since I've last seen him, getting rid of the short beard he used to wear. I decide I like him better without it; it makes him look younger.

"So how was it?" he asks.

"Good." I reply.

He tilts his head mockingly, "I was hoping for a few more details than just 'good.'"

I laugh, "Okay. Well, uh…it was really different. You had to do everything yourself. There's was no easy way out. You either did it the hard way, or it didn't get done at all. But it was beautiful out there. I mean, it's beautiful here, but deep out there, in the real wilderness, not just these borders, it's really something else. It's so…open. Free."

Brandon smiles, "I understand completely."

My grandmother tugs at my shoulder, pulling me in for another hug, "Was the food any good?"

I smile at her, with her warm eyes and curved mouth. Since the average Loric lifespan is around two hundred years, her brown hair is just starting to gray. She has it pulled up in a bun, with a pin sticking halfway out. My grandfather stands beside her, strong and sturdy with his cropped blond hair and muscular arms.

"It had nothing on your cooking, Grandma."

Brandon snorts, and Six calls me a kiss-up, but everyone's smiling. I smile too, relieved to at last be among the people I love and belong with. Nine comes over and I turn to give him a high five, but Six gasps and points at my now exposed back with fearful eyes.

"Four! What happened?" Her voice is almost a wail, grinding against my ears.

My grandmother rushes forward, tutting and checking me over and gasping again when she sees the bite on my forearm. Six walks up to me and puts a hand on my shoulder, demanding answers, while Brandon and my grandfather watch on worriedly. I shrug, trying to blow it off.

"Nine thought I'd make a good doggie treat."

Six shoots an accusatory glance at him where he stands guiltily, and I hurriedly try to defuse the situation. We just got back, and I have no interest in starting a fight. And above all, Nine is like my brother, perhaps my closest friend. I'm not angry at him, and I don't want the others to be either. I know he wouldn't have tripped me if he'd known that I'd get hurt, and I'm already past this issue. What's done is done.

"It's fine, really. He saved my ass, like a million times, on the trip anyways."

"But you caught me when I fell off that bridge." He says, uncomfortable with being praised after his actions.

"Hey," I say, looking deep into his eyes so he knows that I'm not mad, "We're even, bro."

He smiles, and Six and my grandmother reluctantly back off.

"You should at least have Seven heal that up for you." Six mumbles.

"Marina now." I say, reminding her.

Two, who's totally obsessed with Earth and books of any kind, had recently gotten the idea to give herself a human name, and had persuaded Seven and Three to go along with her. She had become Maggie, while Seven and Three became Marina and Hannu. She even got Ten to change her name to Ella. I like that one, though. It seems to capture her sweet personality. She'd been pestering me and Nine all day before we left to join in, but we, along with the rest of us, had politely refused. We were happy with our names, proud to be recognized as the Ten prophesized to save Lorien in its darkest hour.

I look up at Brandon, "So what's next?"

He smiles and exchanges a look with Sandor, "You've both done well. I think we can give you a week off till the Games start up."

Nine and I express our thanks, and Sandor winks at Six, "Don't worry, hon. Katarina may not have told you yet, but the rest of you will get the week off as well, starting day after tomorrow. We just though these two deserved a bit more rest."

Six smiles, "Oh, no, it's fine. I'll take as much free time as I can get. I won't waste it like these two will," she pokes me in the stomach, "You'll probably spend the entire extra day sleeping."

"I'm tired!" I protest, but everyone just laughs at me and Nine.

We slowly start to walk back to the city, everyone still chattering excitedly, but I'm kind of out of it. I've just remembered my dream last night, and it's now that I realize that this is what I could lose. My home, friends, family…and Six. I frown, and wish that I could simply make sense of what he had said, not double guess everything.

Six takes my hand, "You okay? You don't seem very happy to be home all of a sudden."

"It's just so different here. I realize that now." I lie quickly.

"You have a new perspective now. It's not weird at all."

I smile at her cheekily, "I like it here better though."

She laughs and shoves me at Brandon. I smile for real as Brandon puts his arm around me. These people are my family. And I won't let anything hurt them, no matter what the dream might have said or meant. Besides, what could be strong enough to destroy Lorien?

**A/N I bet you all know what I'm gonna say…yep, you guessed it: Please Review! Also, I'm starting a little "game" so to speak. I'm gonna be hiding little references to the main series. Some will just be little differences, some will be really obvious. (Like the fact Lorien hasn't been turned into a giant ashtray) Anyways, if you're the first to spot them and post it on a review, you'll earn a point. Person with the most points at the end will win a chance to read the last chapter early or read the first of the 2****nd**** ahead of time, or something like that. Anyways, just try it out.**


	5. Chapter 5

**(Disclaimer: No, I don't own the Lorien Legacies series or any of the characters. But I do own a totally sick lava lamp. Anybody jealous?)**

**5**

Four

I walk with Six through the streets of London, close, but not quite touching. We're headed to Seve-, I mean, Marina's house so she can heal up my back and arm. Nine and the rest of the others headed back home after a couple hours, and Six and I have been chatting together ever since they left. Brandon took my Chest with him, freeing me of the burden of carrying it all the way to Marina's and back. I'm happy, enjoying simply spending time with Six, all of my dark thoughts on my dream pushed far back into my head. I've locked the door and thrown away the key, determined to enjoy myself. The dream didn't mean anything, probably just some whacked up part of my subconscious kicking me in my sleep. But even as I lie to myself, a little nagging voice in the back of my head reminds me that some Garde develop the Legacy of precognition…the ability to see the future. I shake my head resolutely. That is _not_ my future.

Instead, I turn my head and focus on Six as we stroll along the sidewalk. She's animated, containing the same enthusiasm she has when we're training. I smile and focus on what she's saying, listening to her ramble on about the Games.

"-but I mean, come on. London _has_ to qualify for the Games this year. And now we're both old enough, Four. We could enter, as a tag team. You and me."

I smile at thought, "You seriously think we'd stand a chance in the qualifiers?"

She leans against me, looking up at me with big brown eyes, "Well, I don't know," she says cheekily, "_I_ might stand a chance. But I'd have to pick up your slack of course."

I laugh and shove her away, though all I really want to do is take her in my arms, "I think we both know it's the other way around."

"You wish."

A grin forces its way onto my face, "Yeah, I do."

We're silent for a moment, and then Six brings it up again, "But, seriously. I think we'd stand a real chance. Could you imagine? Us representing London and Lorien? It'd be amazing. We could totally kick the humans' butt!"

"We'd still have to go up against the Mogadorians," I remind her, "But if you really want to go for it, I'm in."

She smiles, and I swear, it lights up the entire block in the slowly darkening afternoon, "Awesome! Thank you, Four." She says sincerely, and I get that stupid flush in my cheeks again. _She's just a friend_, I tell myself, _it's not like she's making a commitment or anything_.

"Come on," I say, slightly uncomfortable by the intensity of her stare, "We should try to get to Marina's before dark."

We walk along the sidewalk through the residential area of London. Most Loric cities are organized like this, with simple houses for living. The real city, with skyscrapers and bustling shops, is in the Inner Ring. Although recently some Loric have building apartments in some of the towers, a trait we've picked up from Earth. The city is laid out in a circle, the business centers and training areas, along with the temples, positioned in the Inner Ring, while the homes make up the Outer Ring.

Marina's house is far walk from my house, a good hour or so. The walk to Six's is much shorter, maybe two minutes or so. Of course I could just zoom ahead and be there within seconds, but that would mean I'd have to leave Six behind, which I certainly don't want to do. I smile. It's ironic: with all my speed, I'm usually the one who's late. I blame it on my tendency to leave things to the last minute. I guess my mentality is that I can simply do it later using my Legacy.

A cold breeze blows across us, causing Six to shiver.

I look at her, "Don't you have a coat or something?"

She shakes her head, "I'd be wearing it, doofus."

"Oh," I say, then try again, "But aren't you cold?"

She rolls her eyes, "Obviously. But I'm more worried about you. All you're wearing is a pair of pants."

I shift uncomfortably, then plunge ahead, mustering my courage, "You could, like, come over here. I could, uh, keep you warm."

She looks at me, actually taking my feeble pick-up attempt seriously, "How."

I point at my chest, "I could use my Lumen to warm us up. Body heat and all."

She nods and puts an arm around my waist as we walk, huddling close to me. Her head rests on my shoulder, and I'm praying to Lorien that she doesn't notice my furious heartbeat or sweaty hand around her back. Eventually I calm down and we walk in a comfortable silence until we reach Marina's house. Six breaks apart from me, and I reluctantly let her go, already missing her warmth and weight on my shoulder. She hurries up the steps to the house's porch and rings the doorbell, her arms around her to keep her warm. I follow her and reach the door just as Marina's grandmother opens it.

She sticks her head, and then recognizing us, asks, "Are you here to see Seven?"

Six smiles and nods, "Marina now."

Her grandmother's eyes twinkle, "Of course. Marina! Get down here; your friends are waiting out in the cold."

"One minute!" Marina's voice carries down the stairwell running along the wall inside.

She hurries down the steps, her brown hair pulled back in a simple ponytail, and rushes to the door, her grandmother retreating back into the house with a smile.

"What's up guys?" she asks, "Sorry, it took so long. I was painting."

"No, it's fine." Six says, and the girls embrace.

Marina turns to me, "Hi, Four."

I smile, "Hey, Marina." We reach forward and hug, but she gasps when she feels the scar on my back.

"Oh my gosh! Four, what happened!"

I smile grimly, "That's what we're here for. You mind if we come in? It's kinda cold out here."

"Yeah, of course." She says, visibly shaken at my injuries.

She leads us inside to the living room and seats on a couch. The room is cluttered with newspaper clippings and paint chips.

Marina shoves a pile of papers off the couch, and then motions for us to sit down, "Sorry," she says, her face red, "It's a bit messy."

I laugh, "It's fine. After a week in the forest I'm happy to just sit down on something that isn't a rock or log."

Marina smiles timidly and hesitantly sits down on the table near the couch, nervously tucking strands of her hair behind her ear.

"What happened?" she repeats.

"I tripped," I say, twisting to show her my back, and then hold out my forearm, "Then the wolves caught up."

Six shoots me a sidelong glance, and nudges my leg with her knee. I discreetly shake my head and she falls still. I've told Marina the truth, just not all of it. I don't want Nine to be criticized anymore for something he didn't mean to do. He might have tripped me, but he'd had no idea what injuries I would sustain. And, in my eye, that makes him innocent.

Marina takes my arm, slowly turning it over, tracing the teeth marks with her hand, and Six looks at her, "Can you help?"

I involuntarily flinch as one of her fingers grazes an open gash, and her eyes soften in sympathy, "Of course I can. What kind of friend would I be if I made you go all the way into the city to find the Healers?"

"Not a very good one." I say, trying to make light of the situation, but Six shushes me and places a hand on Marina's arm.

"Thank you."

She nods and places her hand over the bite, looking into my eyes, "This might feel a bit…weird."

I nod, and she begins. She has the Legacy of Healing, one of the rarest among our people. She can heal practically anything, at any time, unlike my healing stone. I could have gone into the city to have wounds cleared up, but I'd rather do it here, in the presence of a friend. That way they can comfort me when I scream.

I grit my teeth, my jaw clenched tight. A cool iciness spreads from the wound, spreading out across my body. It's so cold it literally burns, shocking my nerves as they've been hooked up to an electric wire. It's like when you come out of freezing water and get pushed into some that's boiling. It's that burning feeling, multiplied by maybe a million. It's the price I have to pay to have my wounds healed now, days after they were inflicted. For healing stones it's double the pain. In order for her Legacy to work on me, I must bear the most pain physically possible. It won't leave any permanent marks, and I will only have to bear it as long as her healing touch is on me, but it is excruciating nonetheless. To my credit, I don't cry, which is better than most, but I sag with relief as my skin melds together, erasing all traces of the bite.

"Are you okay?" Marina asks worriedly, perhaps a bit guilty at having caused me so much pain. She's always had a kind heart, the gentlest of us, and violence or pain of any kind sickens her. I can think of no one better to hold her Legacy among the Ten.

"I'm fine," I say tersely, bracing myself for the pain, "Just do it fast so I can get this over with."

I turn my back to her, and flinch as the freezing fire melds into my back and spreads throughout my body, throughout my very soul. I'm oblivious to anything but the sheer agony until I feel Six put her arms around me, supporting me and whispering words of encouragement in my ear. I cling tightly to her, trying to escape the pain. We stay that way for a while, this wound taking longer to close, until at last my back melds itself back together. I collapse back against the couch, breathing heavily. I'm worried how Six will think of me, thrashing around like that, but there's nothing I can do. There isn't any pain now, but the memory is all too real. I stay that way for a few moments, both the girls watching me worriedly, and then sit up.

"Thank you." I say, speaking to both Marina and Six.

"It's fine." Marina replies, and I smile back at her as she leads us back out to the door.

Six and I take our leave soon after that, and head back to our houses. When we reach the intersection where we usually split up Six surprises me, and hugs me tight.

She looks up at me, still entangled in my arms, and smiles, "I'm glad you're back."

I smile, bewildered, but I'm mostly just glad she doesn't think I'm a wimp. Then she surprises me even further, and leans up to give me a swift peck on the cheek, and my brain melts. It's fast and sweet, but it leaves me standing there like an idiot, grinning stupidly.

Six smiles at my expression and starts to back up, not needing to say anything else, "See you tomorrow, Four."

"Huh?" I manage to squeak out.

"When we practice for the Games, Four. The Games."

I nod, only now remembering that I'd agreed to participate with her, and watch her saunter away. All my dumbstruck brain can think about is how happy I am. She basically just gave me the go-ahead to make a move, the green light. I smile, already picturing Nine's expression when he hears about this. Then my smile widens, my mind replaying what just happened between me and Six. Everything, every sensation about the kiss itself. I stand there like a complete idiot, completely forgetting where on Lorien I am, or even what my name is, until I finally turn around and head home in the dark of the night.

**A/N Yep, you got it. Please review! It totally gives me a boost of energy to keep this story reeling in. **


	6. Chapter 6

**(Disclaimer: Anybody think there's some way I could convince Pittacus Lore to give me the rights to the Lorien Legacies series or any of these characters? No? Didn't think so…)**

**6**

Four

I lay in my bed, sunlight silently streaming in through my window. It was amazing last night, finally being able to sleep in my own bed, not on the cold, hard floor of a cave, for the first time in a week. Not that I slept a wink.

All I could do last night was smile and stare up at the ceiling, replaying every single moment of the kiss. It was easily the most amazing thing that had happened to me, the best sixty seconds of my life. I was scared that if I fell asleep I'd just wake up and realize it was all just a dream. So here I am, wide awake and staring at the roof at seven in the morning.

My thoughts are broken up by my grandfather hollering up at me from downstairs, calling that breakfast's ready, and I throw off the sheets and swing out of bed. I move sluggishly, and pull on a shirt and pair of pants from my dresser. Then I turn and sit back down on my bed, staring out at the city of London slowly awakening in the early morning light. My mind continues to race, and I can't keep my thoughts away from Six. I ponder our relationship, stretching all the way back to before we were even born. Unconsciously, mind constructs a timeline of sorts around us.

Our history stretches a long way back, before we even breathed the fresh air of Lorien. My parents, Lara and Liren, had known Six's since they were first put into the same Graduate class. My father had known Six's mom, Lyn, even before that. My father and Six's dad, Arun, became fast friends, getting into all sorts of trouble together, while my mom and Lyn had joined the same group of chattering, excited girls. It took them a little longer to become as close friends as my father and Arun were, but by the time they'd graduated they were inseparable. It was long before our parents started falling for each other, and soon enough they were mated. My parents were actually mated first, but I was born about eight months after Six.

As our parents were inseparable friends, the same was with Six and I. Since before we could even walk we were taken with our parents whenever they visited the other's house, which was pretty much every week. And it only helped that were both proclaimed as members of the Ten destined to save our race. Of course, after a year of being raised by our parents, we were given to our grandparents, but that only strengthened our bond. We were now only a block away from each other, and I'm pretty sure I saw her every day. Our parents used to joke that we'd always end up together, and now, looking at what happened last night and my growing feelings for Six, they might just have been right.

Six and I were placed in the same General class, along with Seven, Two, and Nine. We took the class until we reached the age of fourteen, learning about our planet's history, arts, language, discoveries, and science. Then the Ten were placed in a special separate class for Graduate School, where we learned to develop our Legacies. And we've been there ever since.

I smile as my mind races, zooming in on particular memories that stand out to me from my experiences with Six.

I can remember when I was very young, maybe eight or so, and we'd playing a board game. It was a simple one, where you simply had to make it to the end of the race. It had been almost over, with Six two steps ahead of me, when I drew a card that let my jump forward three steps ahead, winning the game. Six had accused me of cheating, and I'd accused her of just being jealous. I'm pretty sure I called her a dummy at one point. The point is, within a few minutes we were screaming at each other and calling out all kinds of names. My grandparents had come over, and eventually Six had headed home. I had felt bad afterward, so I'd drawn a crude picture of us holding hands on a card, and had put 'I'm sorry.' On the inside. When I'd shown up to General class the next day I gave it to her, only to find out she'd had the exact same idea. By the end of the day we'd both completely forgotten all about it and I had her over again. We played the same game, but she won this time. I'm pretty sure I still have that card somewhere.

Another memory surfaces, this one not too long ago, when I was around twelve. It had been during the Festival of the Twin Moons, and we'd decorated candles at school. It was usually like this for the Festival of Twin Moons, celebrating with something around the idea of fire. The Festival of Twin Suns, which only lasts three days as opposed to the Festival of Twin Moons, usually has something to do with water. They're polar opposites, and represent the balance achieved on Lorien, the needs of the Loric and the needs of Lorien itself. We'd placed them around the stage in the back of our classroom, and our teacher had decided to have some fun. We'd set up a spelling bee, and of course by the end it was just Six and me left. It had been some stupid word, I think gray, which could be spelled in two different ways. I had spelled it with an a, and Six had used an e. Our teacher, a Cêpan named Julia, couldn't decide which of us was right, so she'd called it a tie.

Six and I had argued with each other of course, just because it was us, and had started pushing each other around. At one point she'd pushed me back, and I got so mad I shoved her to the ground. She had looked up at me in shock, and I had instantly felt bad. Then I'd realized she wasn't staring at me, but was staring at my sock, which had apparently caught on fire when she'd pushed me and I'd flipped over a candle. I'd just stared at it like an idiot, but luckily Julia had been thinking straight and had hurriedly sprayed a fire extinguisher all over me. Six and I had apologized to each other afterwards, both honestly sorry. A part of me now wonders if my Lumen could have been active then, since I didn't even feel the flames, but I'm pretty sure I was just in shock. Nine still laughs about the fire incident today.

My mind reaches out to a more recent memory, about a year ago. It was just around that time I was starting to…'appreciate' Six more than I had in the past. We were out in the backyard of my house with my grandfather, while my grandmother was inside baking cookies. I love my grandfather, and not just in that sappy way. With his hilarious attitude and constant jokes, he's always a blast to be around. And when he gives out advice it's not patronizing like some of the other adults. He's totally cool, and I know Six and most of the other kids think the same. He's also the perfect trainer for Six and me, having most of our collective Legacies. He's shown me all sort of tricks with his Lumen, and he even has invisibility, just like Six. He's shown her how to move silently, so she's impossible to see and hear. And of course he helps us with our telekinesis, which all Garde have. Later, in private when Six was gone, he'd even teach me this one amazing trick with his telekinesis. I think I have the hang of it now, almost a year after he started teaching it, and if I'm right I think it'll come in handy during the Games.

But at one point he was training me and Six in the backyard, and it sure wasn't easy. He had me covered in fire, struggling to keep the flames from eating up three wooden branches I had to levitate around me. It was incredibly hard to control the fire, to reel it back in from its hunger. Meanwhile he had Six sneaking through the backyard, invisible. Her goal was to simply get past him without being seen or heard, but he called out her exact location every time. I don't think she's even managed it to the date. Regardless, my grandmother had come out with a full platter of cookies and milk, a popular trend picked up from Earth. While humans might be dumb about some things, they sure knew how to cook and their styles of clothing were super comfy. Especially jeans. I love jeans. The point is, Six and I had wanted to stop to take a break, while my grandfather wanted to keep it going. We had needled him and called out all kinds of funny names, ranging from a fat human to a clunky Chimæra. Eventually he had given in and watched us ruefully from the back porch.

"You two are quite a pair, aren't you?" he'd asked us.

Six had smirked while I laughed, and then at the same time we said, "You got that right."

We'd stared at each other for a second, then I'd laughed even louder while Six called out some human expression, like jinx or something. She claimed I owed her a soda, but I never got her one. She still needles me about it sometimes.

And then, finally, the night before Nine and I had left, we'd been sitting in a tree a little ways from my backyard. She had her hair pulled back in a ponytail, and her feet swung in the air as she leaned against me. We'd been silent for a while, but gradually started a small conversation.

"So what are you going to do out there for a full week?"

"I don't know," I had shrugged, "Maybe think. Sleep. Write a book or maybe some poetry."

She'd laughed and gently pushed me, and I made a big show of swinging my arms around as I exaggerated recovering my balance.

I glared at her mockingly, "You could have made me fall!"

She smiled just as she sends a strong wind, blowing me off the tree to the forest floor, "That was the point."

"Well then." I say, and yank her down to me with my telekinesis. She yelps and flattens down her skirt as she falls, laughing. I catch her and hold her in my arms like one of those actors from those cheesy human romance movies Six sometimes makes me watch at her house.

I smirk at her, "I think you're supposed to say, 'my hero.'"

She rolls her eyes and shoves me away, and I let her down, "Not even for a whole vault of Loralite."

I'd laughed, and we'd slowly started walking back to the house. When she'd said her goodbyes to my grandparents and I'd let her out the door, she turned to me.

"I'm gonna miss you. This is going to be one boring week."

My heart skipped a beat when she said that, though I'm sure she was just being a good friend. I managed to smile, "I'll be back before you know it."

She stepped forward and hugged me, "I'll be waiting."

She'd turned and left then. By the time she woke up the next morning I was gone, dropped in the middle of the wilderness of Lorien with Nine. I smiled as I walk down the stairs into the kitchen where my grandfather sat reading his newspaper. Hadley walks over and curls up at my feet in the form of a cat, mewing good morning. My grandmother flips more pancakes in a pan, while my grandfather puts down the paper and looks over at me as I sat down and poured myself some orange juice.

"What?" he asked, peering over at me from the rim of his glasses.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"You're smiling like a Chimæra that found its lost bone. What's up?"

I smile even wider, "Everything's perfect. Perfect and even better."

**A/N As always, please review! I totally makes my day. Somewhat. A little bit. Just review, kay?**


	7. Chapter 7

**(Disclaimer: All rights, including ownership of the Lorien Legacies series and these characters, are reserved to Pittacus Lore-but some wrongs are still available.)**

**7**

Four

I jog swiftly towards my usual training center, eager to see Six and the others after a week of just sitting at home. Each Graduate class has its own private center, with barracks, classrooms, and training centers. Despite ours only having ten Garde, ours is no exception. Sandor, Nine's Cêpan, has affectionately named it the Lecture Hall. I look down at Hadley, who's jogging with me in the form of a sleek feline, I think it's called a panther, from Earth. I think that my animal telepathy is one of the best Legacies I could have, simply because it has allowed me to get to know Hadley in ways I never would have imagined. I've discovered that Hadley, along with the rest of the Chimæra on Lorien, are nearly as intelligent as the Loric, capable of 'speech' and a diverse race in their own right. Hadley is his own unique person, unlike the animals of Earth or the few non-Chimæra that can be found in the far reaches of Lorien.

Hadley, sensing my thoughts, looks up at me, _"And we don't stink like you Loric do."_

I groan, _"Not you too. That was only last week. Give me a break!"_ It's almost exactly the same thing Six said to me when I got back. Six. My heart quickens and flashes of last night pop into my head before I can cut off my connection with Hadley.

His ears flick up in interest and he forgets to keep running for a second or two, but swiftly catches up to me in large, leaping bounds, _"Six? And you? Tell me everything."_ He begs.

But I simply shake my head and glare straight ahead, _"No. If I did half the Chimæra on Lorien would know in an instant."_

I swear he's smiling at me, but that's impossible for a Chimæra, _"They already do."_

This time it's me who forgets to put one foot in front of the other. I'm so startled I stand still for a good thirty seconds, thinking something along the lines of, _he wouldn't_, until I use my Legacy to zoom back up to him, where he's laughing away in his head. I can't even explain how relieved I am when he tells me he's joking.

_"You're so gullible, Four."_ He tells me.

_"You just better not tell anyone. Especially Nine."_

He agrees, and soon enough we're at the training center. He says his goodbyes, then turns into some kind of bird and soars. I watch him go, wishing I could just fly away from my problems like that. Just fly away from the dark omen my dream has presented me. I take a deep breath to calm the butterflies in my stomach over seeing Six again, unsuccessfully try to smooth down my sandy hair, and then open the door and step inside.

Three-I mean Hannu, Eight, and Nine are talking in one corner. Maggie, Marina, Five, and Ella are looking over one of Maggie's many books from Earth, pointing at certain pictures of various wildlife found there. One and Six are in another corner, whispering softly together. I'm the last here, as usual. One looks over and gives me a knowing look, and Six just shoots me a dazzling smile, which I weakly return. My stomach is sinking though as I walk over to the rest of the guys. She must have told One. I can only imagine what teasing I'll endure from her, before I stop myself. One isn't like that. She's actually had a boyfriend before, Wade, who she dumped after she found out what a slob he was. Unlike the rest of us, she's twenty-one, oldest by far. She knows what it's like, and certainly wouldn't mess with me. Probably. Six must be asking her for advice. I'm sure she's and plenty of experience, with her tan skin and long blond hair that most guys probably drool over. They don't know about her sharp wit though, ready to mortify them the second they make a grab for her.

I smile as I reach the others, and give Nine a high-five. Hannu smiles at me as I walk over, patting me on the back. He looks even tanner since I've last seen him, his skin now approaching a chocolate brown color. Eight turns to me, pushing his curly black hair back, and looks at me pleadingly with his jade green eyes.

"You gotta help me, bro." he pleads.

"What's up?" I ask.

Hannu removes his arm from my shoulder, "First off, you'll notice I actually have the decency to say welcome back to civilization. Second, our friend here is an emotional wreck."

Nine snorts, "I don't think that even covers it. Come on, dude," he addresses Eight, "get it together. This is_ so_ not manly."

I put my hands out in front of me, holding off the barrage of conversation, "Hold up. What's going on here exactly?"

"It's Marina, dude," he moans, "I can't stop thinking about her."

Nine gives me a pointed look, "He thinks you can help. You know, since you're such good 'friends' with Six."

Thankfully, my face doesn't flush, and I promise to myself that he can never learn about the kiss.

"Well, what have you guys tried so far?" I ask.

"I tried calming him down with my Legacy, but he's in too deep." Hannu says. He has Sensior, the ability to control people's emotions. If they're too strong however, he can't do much. There's some people I'd be seriously worried about if they had that particular Legacy, but luckily Hannu is one of those people who wouldn't even think about using it on other people without their permission. He's one of those do-gooder guys who always defuses the situation and breaks up the arguments. Overall, he's a pretty good guy. _Or could that be his Legacy tricking me? Nah, he wouldn't. Would he? Of course not._

Whatever response I might have made is interrupted as our Cêpans enter the room. I see Brandon smile at me, and I give a small wave in return. They call us over from our respective groups and gather us in the center of the room.

"Well, as you all know," Reynolds, Eight's Cêpan, begins "The Games are coming up. And this year all of you are old enough to qualify for the Selection Tournament. And, knowing all of you, I'm sure some of you have already decided to enlist when the records open later tonight."

Pretty much everyone nods, and Brandon intervenes, "How many of you are thinking of competing?"

Everyone raises their hand except Maggie and Ella, who look down at their feet nervously.

Conrad, Two's Cêpan, smiles comfortingly at them, "It's fine. You don't all have to participate. It's a personal choice."

Six's Cêpan, Katarina, speaks up next, "Are any of you going to compete together?"

Once again everyone nods, and separate into our respective pairs. Six and I stand together, and I see One and Five paired together. They might be hard to beat, a combo like that. I see that Nine and Hannu have also teamed up, along with Marina and Eight. I'm suddenly looking at my fellow Garde in a new light: we are all now competition to one another. It's a strange realization; we've always depended on one another throughout our lives, and now we're suddenly enemies. It seems wrong somehow. I can tell from the others' expressions that they feel the same when they reach my conclusion.

Reynolds starts lading us into separate combat arenas, "I think it's a good idea if you all spar with one another, head-on. I know you've all fought one another before, but never full out. This time there's no restrictions."

"But no use of your Chests." Mason, Hannu's Cêpan, intervenes.

Reynolds inclines his head, "Good point. No Inheritance allowed, just your own skills. I know you're allowed it in the actual Games, but you won't last a minute if you can't hold your own without it. Now, Eight, get over here. You're going to be sparring with Five. Marina, you're against Hannu. Nine, you're with Six. And that leaves Four with One."

I nod nervously. I might be good, better than most of the others, but One has a good five year lead on me. It's going to be tough to beat her. And despite her being like an older sister to me, there's no way she's gonna cut me any slack. Six gives my hand a squeeze, and then Brandon leads her off with Nine. Reynolds gestures for me and One to enter the room directly to our left. One gives me a flirtatious smile, and I feel my insides start to squirm all over again. I so _don't_ want to do this.

One is already at the other side of the bare room, smiling and rubbing her hands in anticipation. I swallow as I walk towards my place, my feet sinking into the softly padded floor.

Reynolds moves to the center and looks at both of us, taking in One's excited expression and my disgruntled one, "Alright, you two are pretty evenly matched. Just remember, don't inflict any serious injuries. Minor cuts or bruises are fine, you can always use a healing stone later. Are you both ready?"

We both nod, and Reynolds moves to the far wall, out of our way. He lifts his hand then lets it drop, "Go!"

I'm already speeding forward before he's finished pronouncing the word. I want to end this quickly, before One can get under my skin or build up any momentum. I'm just rearing up to land a solid punch on her still jaw when spikes of earth erupt from her feet, forming a protective shell around her. I barely backpedal in time and race back to my side, shifting back into real time, calculating my next move.

One smiles at me again and winks, "That was a nice try, Four. But predictable."

As she's speaking she starts to send tremors throughout the floor, keeping me off balance. I have to use my telekinesis to prop me up against the constantly shifting floor.

One slowly starts walking forward, and I feel a giant wedge of telekinesis being thrust forward into me like a spearhead. I hastily throw up my own and we begin a battle between our minds. It's hard for me, the tremors keeping me distracted, while One distracts me herself by talking.

"Tired yet, Four? You can give up at any time."

I smile at her, "The fact that you're asking me means you're worried you won't win."

She laughs, "That's the spirit! But still, the offer stands."

A pillar of earth rockets toward me once the words leave her mouth, and I have to hurl myself to the side to dodge it. But I land on the shaking ground and flail for balance, momentarily dropping my shield, and One's telekinesis blasts into me, hurling me to the wall. I grunt; the wall feels rock hard even though it's heavily padded to avoid serious injury. One doesn't stop there: she keeps driving me into it with the blunt of her telekinesis, flattening me like a pancake. I struggle to break free, but she has me pinned. I try a different tactic instead, and use my telekinesis to throw her legs out from underneath her. She yelps and stops her assault for just a moment, but that's all the time I need to speed away with my Legacy. I turn toward her, hoping to find her sprawled against the ground, but she's standing tall, and looks more than ready to continue this fight.

I hurl a wave of telekinesis at her with my mind, aiming to push her back, but she simply turns intangible and lets it pass right through her. She smiles at me naughtily and wags her finger before sending another series of quakes throughout the ground. It's harder still now with the tremors back, but I think I have an idea that might work. I grab One again with my telekinesis, and once more she simply turns intangible, letting my grasp slide over her. But this time I use my power to grab every bit of space around One, building a clear picture of her frame in my head. She struggles, but can't move, as she's now trapped in a floating prism of air. She might be able to phase herself through my telekinesis, but she can't phase through the air my power is blasting at her, firmly pinning her in place. She can't even twitch a finger against the speed force generated by the rushing air inside the prison. I laugh and lift her up, then hurl against the wall with my mind. She's too focused on trying to get free to notice the blow coming, and gives an audible gasp when it lands. I rear her back to do it again, only this time she's ready and uses her intangibility to simply slide threw the wall and then be pulled out again when I realize it's time for a new approach.

I speed myself up as fast as I can go, and everything starts to quickly dim in a dying light. I can barely see, which means I have to be close to the right frequency. By vibrating myself at just the right speed I should be able to land a solid blow on One, my vibrating particles colliding with hers. I release her from my mind and watch her stagger back, slowly raising a hand to gingerly touch her jaw, looking at me in shock.

I smile and flex my fist, "Gotcha."

She smiles dangerously at me, and speaks in a perfect imitation of Six, "You'll have to do better than that."

I freeze, shocked. My brain has shut down, trying to rationalize how the voice of my best friend is coming from One's mouth. Right before a pillar of earth rockets up from the floor, slamming into me and sending me flying across the room, I realize she must have used her Legacy of mimicry. I growl as I hit the floor, already back in slow-time. One's going at me hard, throwing me everything she has. The ground shifts beneath my feet, fast even to my accelerated point of view, and her telekinesis constantly pushes me back, making me move sluggishly as though I'm wading though mud. But despite this, I still struggle forward faster than she can see, rearing up for one last assault. While it seems painstakingly slow for my blows to land upon her, drifting through her waves of telekinesis, it must feel like it's all simultaneous to her. She staggers under the blows I rain all around her, striking her in in the back, arms, legs, chest, and head in the matter of a single second.

I shift back to normal time and see her drop to the floor, utterly spent. I lift her into the air with my mind, and pin her for a good ten seconds before Reynolds calls the match. I release One, and she sags against the wall. Reynolds leaves to go record the results, and I turn back to One. She smiles up at me with no sign of resentment and pulls me down next to her, then swings an arm around my shoulders, pulling me closer to her hot, sweaty body.

"Nice one, Four. It's not often I lose like that."

"Thanks," I say sheepishly, uncomfortable with the lack of personal space between us, "You did pretty good yourself."

She laughs, and I'm suddenly aware of how her bare leg is pressing against mine. She has to be messing with me. She was just talking with Six after all. She has to be.

"I think I did a bit better than good," she says teasingly, "Lorien, I wish got super-speed for a Legacy."

I shrug, "I don't know. Intangibility is pretty cool."

She rolls her eyes and leans her blond head on my shoulder, "Are you serious?"

I nod, "Yeah. That's a pretty sweet trick. And mimicry has to be great for prank."

She winks at me, and agrees in Six's voice again, "Oh, it is."

I smile nervously and stand up, then pull One to her feet beside me. I'm freaking out over what Six would do if she came in and saw us sitting that close, One _freaking_ flirting with me, and simultaneously wondering if she set this up as a test or something. One, as if having read my mind, pats my shoulder and breezes past me back to the main room.

"Don't worry. You two are going to be great for each other."

I frown, then follow her out. We're the first ones done, the room empty except for us, and Maggie and Ella. Maggie jumps up and runs over to us excitedly.

"Who won?"

"Four had a fun time kicking my ass." One says dryly, but with amusement in her eyes, as I hastily exclaim that she was really tough to the girls.

Ella shakes her little fist in the air, "Called it!"

One puts her hands on her hips and looks at Ella incredulously, "Seriously? You bet against me?

Ella smiles sheepishly, "Uhhh…"

One laughs and grabs her into a one-handed hug, "Get over here, kiddo."

I smile at them, Ella cradled in One's arms. She's the youngest of us Ten, only thirteen, but she has an incredibly kind spirit. She's like everyone's little sister, and with her small stature, brown eyes, and auburn hair, it's hard not to adore her. She might not be as developed as the rest of us, only just having receiving her telekinesis along with her telepathy, but she's invaluable.

My thoughts are broken up by Six and Nine striding into the room, the latter complaining loudly. I don't even have to ask who won when Six comes to stand beside me.

"That bad, huh?" One asks.

"Was there ever any doubt?" asks Six.

I smirk at Nine's fuming expression, "Of course not," I pat him on the shoulder, "Maybe next time buddy."

He glares at me, "She cheated."

Six laughs, "Oh, so how exactly did I _cheat_?" she asks, drawing the word out.

"You can't just stay invisible the _entire_ time!" he protests.

"Dude," I say, "We can use all our Legacies. Fair's fair."

Six smirks at him, and his response his cut off by the arrival of the rest of the Garde and our Cêpans. Brandon gives me a quizzical look, and I flash him a thumbs up. Katarina has all gather around, but not before I've learned the both Five and Hannu won their respective matches along with me and Six.

"Alright," Katarina begins, "that was a good start. We'll work more on the Games throughout this whole week. We'll have these sparring sessions every day, just to get you warmed up. But this was a good start."

Everyone starts chattering excitedly, but Katarina cuts them off, "And as I'm sure you all know, the humans and Mogadorians arrive here tomorrow."

Six and I exchange a glance as everyone bursts into excited chatter. If we can beat the other Loric, our main competition will be arriving on our planet. The humans I'm not worried about, but's there's another race that might be more difficult. By this time tomorrow, the Mogadorians will be on Lorien.

**A/N Go on, be a nice chap and give me a review. (No, I'm not British. Why would you even ask?)**


	8. Chapter 8

**(Disclaimer: I don't own Lorien Legacies series or any of these characters, blah blah blah. Someone does though…I think it's that Pittacus Lore guy. I don't know.)**

**8**

Four

The rest of the day is filled with the usual exercises to hone our Legacies, and more combat trials concerning the Games. Today we mainly focused on how to fight another Loric, but Brandon said we'll learn combat tactics against a human or Mogadorian latter in the week. Regardless, it's a long day, and I'm totally wiped when I finally reach home and crawl into my bed.

But no peaceful sleep comes to me tonight, and I once again dream of the man. He's standing inside the mouth of a dark cave, watching the embers of a slowly dying fire, his arms crossed against his massive chest. His eyes flicker up to me as I suddenly appear, then resume staring back down at the flames. I look around, and then take a step back in shock: I know this place. It's where Nine and I spent our first night out in the wilderness during Lupa's exercise. I even recognize the same little bed of leaves and moss I'd collected to sleep on pushed back into the far corner. I turn back to the man and find him staring at me intently.

"I'm sorry." He says, his voice rumbling in the dead of the night.

"What?" I ask, confused. This wasn't at all what I was expecting.

His eyes shift back down to the fire, "I won't be able to reach you in time. You'll have to save yourself."

"What do you mean?" I ask, panicked even though I don't know what I'm supposed to be saving myself from, "You're only a week away."

He laughs, "Oh, I wish, kid. I wish. You're not that bright, are you?"

"What?" I ask, slightly hurt.

He turns toward me, "Kid, it took you a week with _super-speed_. All I've got is my own two feet. Plus, you don't have to hide from three whole planets sending bounty hunters after you. Things like this tend to slow you down."

"Oh." I say, deflating.

"And even if I did make it to the Observatory, it'd still take me at least a month to reach you. I can't just teleport to London, like you did with that witch, Lupa."

"What's wrong with Lupa?" I ask, desperate to know who my enemies are.

"You can't trust her. You can't trust anyone." He growls. His face takes on a dark look and whispers so softly that I could barely hear him, "You can't trust _anyone_."

"Then what am I supposed to do?" I practically scream, frustrated by the entire situation.

"Learn. Develop your last Legacy, and then develop His."

"You know what my last Legacy is?" I ask, shocked.

He grimly smiles, "Oh yeah. And trust me, it's a killer."

"Who are you?" I ask. I need to understand what's going on here.

"It doesn't matter." He growls, all traces of his wry amusement gone, "We've already met. What matters is that you get the hell away from London _right now_. If you don't take the path, then all three of our worlds have no hope. Pack light, and tell no one where you're headed. Make your way to the Observatory, and I'll try to meet you along the way."

"What?!" I sputter, "You can't just expect me to leave out of the blue, running away from something I don't even know!"

He shakes his head, and the vision starts to go black, "You don't want to. I'm sorry, but it's the only way. We have no choice."

Then just as everything disappears completely, I hear one last whisper, "Luck be with you, Number Four."

I bolt up upright in my bed, my sheets streaked from sweat and thrown aside from my tossing and turning. I'm breathing heavily, my heart racing off pure adrenaline. I grimace in frustration and rake my hands through my disheveled hair. I stay that way for a while, simply agonizing over what the hell I'm supposed to do, when I finally get out of bed and pull on a sweatshirt and pair of jeans. I slowly walk out of the house, careful not to wake my grandparents. My feet are cold against the bracket and twigs strewn about the ground as I delve into the forest. It takes me a couple minutes, but I eventually reach a favorite thinking spot of mine, a high rock jutting out among the wood, with a clear view for miles. I shiver and pull my hood up, trying to keep warm in the pre-dawn night.

I sit silently, pondering over my situation. I don't even understand what's going on. Why would I individually be the only one who's in danger? The only sign that anything's wrong has come from my dreams, which could be just figments of my imagination, the ramblings of a crazy man. But there's something deep inside of me, almost a sixth sense, that tells me that everything I'm agonizing over is all too real. My body slowly starts to shake, struggling to release the pent-up anger coursing through my veins. I'm tired of being kept in the dark: I want to know what's going on. I've been plagued by these omens and thoughts for the past two weeks, and I'm sick of it.

Far-off in the distance there is the sound of rumbling thunder, and I notice dark clouds brewing overhead in the dim light from one of Lorien's rising suns. I sigh and stand, my muscles sore and creaking in protest from the cold and hours of disuse. I must have been sitting up here longer than I thought. I scoop a small stone up from the rocky ground and hurl deep out into the forest with my mind as hard as I can. I watch it arc through the air and then dip to the ground, then turn away and start heading home. I'm careful when I'm back inside, but my grandmother is already awake, silently reading by our fireplace. She looks up as I come in, and asks me where I've been, but I simply tell her that I needed to take a walk.

The rest of the day is painstakingly normal, and I'm desperate for some sign that I'm not crazy, that my fears might be real. It doesn't help that I don't even know what I'm looking for, and it only descends me further into silent madness. I've already decided not to leave London, but I'm going to stay vigilant, alert for any sign of this threat. The classes at the Lecture Hall are basically the same, and we learn more about how to defend against an enemy Garde's telekinesis, along with more of the history of the Games. This time I'm paired with Five for warm-ups, and I beat her easily. She might be difficult for the others, but her super-strength is no use if she can't even land a blow on me, thanks to my speed. Brandon and Conrad give us a brief introduction to something interesting, telling us that we'll be opening our Chests tomorrow. I've seen everything inside, but I still don't know what a good amount of my Inheritance actually does.

They let us out early today, and we all decide to go down to the Launch Systems to watch the humans and Mogadorians arrive. There's a crowd, but we manage to push our way to a good vantage spot that gives a clear view of the landing pad. I'm curious; I've of course seen these aliens in pictures, and both have respective ambassadors here in London, but I've never seen that many together in person. The only references I have are the media they've sent us and my lessons from Brandon. While the humans have their ambassador Malcolm Goode here in London, and I've even had maybe one conversation with his son Sam, who's totally obsessed with our Legacies, I've never really seen them interact with their own species. Sam's a nice enough kid, although definitely odd. I can only imagine how diverse the rest of his race will be.

And then, even more reclusive, are the Mogadorians. I've heard rumors that they're race is slowly dying out, though I'm not sure if that's true. I know they're unified under one leader, Setrakus Ra, unlike the humans, who assigned a single ambassador to our planet. He only goes by the General, and I've never talked to him. He had a son, Adamus, and a daughter, Kelly, but they were sent back to Mogadore when they were ten years old. I'd never known Kelly, and had only talked to Adamus a few times, so they were as much of a mystery to me as the humans.

Nine impatiently cranes his head up to the sky, looking for their ship, "When are they gonna get here already?"

Marina frowns, "We've been waiting for like, five minutes, and you're already impatient."

"Try being me," I joke, "you guys' minutes seem like hours to me with my Legacy."

"Oh," Six smiles at me mockingly, "So how do you explain how you're always the last one to anything?"

I mime a long yawn, adopting a sleepy expression on my face, "I take my time. I have enough of it anyways."

"More like he can't read a clock." Eight snickers and Nine joins in.

Five rolls her eyes, "Oh, please. None of you guys can read a clock. Every single day you all come in late, dirty and sweating."

Nine takes on an expression of mock indignity, "Oh, so we're being sexist now."

One smiles and throws her arms around Six and Ella, "Please, this isn't even an argument. Everyone knows any of us girls could kick any one of you guys' ass."

"Not what I heard the other day when you went up against Four." Nine shoots back.

One smirks, "I think I proved my point when I held you in a headlock until you _begged_ me to let you go this morning, Nine."

Maggie lets out an excited gasp and points up at the sky, interrupting Nine's response, "Oooh! Look! I can see the ship!"

We all hurriedly peer into the sky, but none of us can see them without Maggie's Legacy, which grants her practically an eagle's eye. If I squint hard enough I can see something that looks a little brighter than the rest, slowly rocketing towards us. It could be the ship, or just one of the many comets that whiz by Lorien nearly every night.

"I don't see anything." Nine frowns

Eight looks over at him, "Dude. Two, oh wait, sorry, Maggie. I'm still kinda getting used to this. _Maggie_ can see for miles. If she sees them, then they're here."

Sure enough, just as Eight finishes talking, I can make it the ship streaming towards us, streaming fire in its wake. Not a comet after all.

Marina nods, "Look. You can see it now. That dot near the sun, right next to it."

"Which sun?" Nine grumbles.

"The one in front of us, dumbass." One rolls her eyes.

A small flush creeps into Nine's cheeks and he looks up at the sky, abashed. If it had been anyone but One he'd probably have shot back a rain of insults back at her, but she has his heart in her hand. I don't think she's interested in it, though. Which is only another testament to Nine's stupidity, as Five has been shooting for him practically ever since they met. I shake my head. _Dude, open your eyes,_ I think.

_That's not gonna happen anytime soon,_ a small voice projects into my head.

I turn to see Ella beaming up at me, and flash her a smile, _Now that, is a very good prediction. _

Her smile widens at we both turn to look back up at the rapidly descending ship. I briefly wonder if Ella's telepathy lets her talk to animals like mine does as we wait. It'd be interesting to find out, something to test when we have time.

A loud roar reaches my ears, and I can't even hear myself when I gasp in shock. A massive hulk of metal looms above me in the sky, spewing fire from its tail. It's huge, the size of shopping mall, with who knows how many stories. It must have taken years to build. I can see the flag of Earth and talisman of Mogadore inscribed on the sides. Also detailed along both flanks of the ship is the Triumvirate, the symbol of the three-way alliance between Earth, Lorien and Mogadore. The behemoth slowly sinks to the earth, and when it lands it lets out a quake that feels like One's let loose with all of her power. The monster sits till for a second, and then a hatch opens at the bottom, revealing a parade of humans and Mogadorians streaming side by side together onto Lorien.

The walk forward together, heads held high amid the cheers of the Loric. They're impressive, but I can't help but view them as my enemies. If Six and I do qualify, then many of these people will be my competition. I watch them come forward, a seemingly endless wave of them. Malcolm Goode and his family along with the General stand at attention, ambassadors to their respective races, welcoming their to people to Lorien. I see Malcolm shaking hands with a woman who must be Annie Hart. I know that she was the first human to discover our race, and has been a leading scientist and figurehead ever since. I can't help but notice a pretty girl with blond hair who must be around my age, who must be her daughter, but my attention is captivated by the Elders appearing.

They literally pop out of thin air, probably thanks to Lupa's power. Or Pittacus Lore, who has every Legacy. I try to imagine what it would be like to have that much power, but I can't even begin to fathom it. He must unstoppable, with all that power and wisdom. Even now he's the most imposing figure here, and his very presence escalates the Loric's cheers. He manages to appear both powerful and kind, a true leader. Even here his aura of power, along with the rest of the Ten Elders', makes me want to fall to my knees.

But then my head my head is turned by a different force, one that I've only felt in my darkest thoughts. Everyone else, the entire crowd along with Six and the others, is captivated by the Elders, and I alone am drawn back to the ship's entrance. It's almost in a dream. And something finally clicks into place. The man coming off the ship is one I have seen before, though never in person. For an instant I'm certain that he is the same as the man from my dream, and I'm almost certain they're one and the same until I start to notice the slight differences. But now something is finally clear to me, and I at last have an enemy I can see. And this man is my enemy, that I am deadly certain of. Descending onto Lorien is a monster and now I know its name: Setrakus Ra.

**A/N And…Four's life officially sucks. Poor guy, huh? Next week is a Fallen Legacies update, so there won't be anything on this end. I also may or may not take a week off: I seriously need some time to get ahead both on my homework and this story. Anyways, as always, Please Review!**


	9. Chapter 9

**(Disclaimer: And we're back here again. Miss me? Me too, but I still don't own this series or any of these characters.)**

**9**

Four

My head is swimming, and I'm overcome by a wave of dread. Here he is, right in front of me. I don't even know how I know this, but it is clear to me as day, a message from sixth sense hidden deep inside my body. The others are all too captivated by the Elders, and none of them notice how my eyes are squeezed tight, unwilling to confirm what I know to be true. He is here.

There's no reason for this, no reason that I should fear him. Setrakus Ra has been Lorien's trusted ally for years, both our planets ushering one another to new levels of prosperity. There has been only friendship between our races, but I'm deadly afraid of this man. It screams against everything I've learned and know, but my instincts are overpowering here. He is my enemy.

The only sign that anything is wrong outside of my own fear is the Elders themselves. They are all solemn yet proud, reaching out to the crowd, except one. Pittacus Lore alone stares at Setrakus Ra with fire in his eyes, and I swear I can feel the course of energy running through us. Us. Not just the two of them, but me as well. Setrakus Ra, Pittacus Lore, myself, and someone…else. A streak of fire binding us together, blocking us off from the outside world. I can see its tongues reaching out to the three of us, flaring brightly in my mind's eye, and another reaching far out into the distance, binding one other to us. And then, a shadowy tendril encircling Setrakus and reaching out to the rest of us. It's driven away by my fire, but just for an instant when I focus on it, it touches me. The rage and fury is overwhelming, and I'm literally forced to my knees, tears springing to my eyes. Six is immediately beside me, at last broken from the Elder's charm, and is asking me wildly what's wrong, clearly panicked. Whatever response I might have made is silenced as I gasp in pain. Despite being out of sight, and I know that Setrakus Ra is looking right at me. His eyes, deep and cruel, burn with fire and hate; promises of a destroyed world. _He can see me. _

It's too much. I need to run, get away now. I have to escape or that fire will burn me up from my core, and I'll be standing there alone, screaming, with nothing to stop me from falling deeper and deeper into the madness of his eyes, of the shadow. I groan, and then reach out desperately, searching for something to protect me. And then I'm suddenly engulfed in white fire and lightning in my mind's eye, burning even brighter than the flames connecting us. Energy rages through my soul and every single sensation is burning, erupting with a sudden rush of power. Pittacus Lore spins around, eyes wide, and Setrakus Ra steps forward. Six is frantic now, shaking me back and forth, cradling me in her arms, the others crowded around worriedly. And I'm as oblivious to them as the rest of the Loric are here to me, burning up with something I can't even begin to understand. Dying…and being born. I need…I need to get away. Away from the hate. The hope. I need to get away. _Now_.

Then the energy inside me crackles out, spewing out from me in all directions, lighting up the night in my mind's eye. None of the others can see, but somehow Pittacus, Setrakus, and the Fourth know…and then I'm gone. I'm shivering, gasping, as the rush of energy disperses from my body as soon as it came. The loss rocks me, and I flail down to the earth. My cheek lies against cold hard stone, and I spend an eternity staring into the distance, reliving the madness, tears continuing to spring from my eyes.

Something is here on Lorien. Something evil. Setrakus Ra brought it here, and now my world could burn. I don't know how long I lay there, sobbing and raging in fear and anger. A deliverance of emotion and loss sent up to the sky. Eventually I sit up and realize what I'm doing to the world around me. I'm at my usual spot, the rock jutting out from the wood, but it's hardly recognizable. I've unconsciously shifted into slow-time, and the rest of my Legacies are out of control. Rocks break apart from the slab I'm sitting on, my telekinesis running rampant, driving deep cracks into the rock in slow motion. Pebbles swirl around me like a cluster of stars, and there's a circle of ash surrounding me, accompanied by a burnt stench. I scramble to my feet, instantly taking control of my power, and the stones fall to the earth and the rock beneath me stops shaking.

I backpedal cautiously, uncertain of my surroundings. I don't know how I got here. I remember being at the airstrip, and the fire and shadow. Then the pain, the panic. I lashed out, reaching for…something. And now I'm here.

I frown. I must have shifted into slow-time and ran blindly in a panic. It's the only possibility. I definitely hadn't been thinking straight. I guess it'd explain why I was in slow-time the whole time I was here, my powers running rampant in a blind panic. Panic. Just that single word brings the memories rushing back. This is all so pointless, so surreal to me now. It's like they're not even my memories, but someone else's story I'm reading. There isn't any explanation for what has happened, but it's sent me reeling off into the abyss where I balanced between my old life and the insanity of the warnings delivered to me.

I sink to the ground and sag against the ground, a cold rock wall to my back. I stare off into the distance without seeing, my fractured brain trying to process what's just happened to me. My mind inevitably draws me back to my latest warning: that I should leave London now. I'm once again locked in the struggle of trying to decide, to abandon my life here, or stay and attempt to salvage what I own. I sigh and hang my head, raking my hands through my hair. Above me a thunderstorm starts to brew, and it isn't long before a deluge of rain pelts me from above.

I sit there, my clothes clinging to my damp body, my vision obscured by a torrent of water. A noise cracks out, splitting open the sky, a sudden flash of light illuminating the dark. Mere minutes ago it was midday; now my world is a cold, everlasting night. I can barely see the edge of the forest, and my mind envisions the wood from my first dream, with the monster slowly stalking me from the brush. I jump to my feet in a flash of panic when I hear a branch crack, the lightning spewed across the sky illuminating my movements.

I'm raising my hands, prepared to hurl this new threat miles into the sky with my telekinesis, when I recognize Six's familiar form. She's panting, running like fury to reach me through the rain and wood. She slows as she reaches the forest's end, sensing something off-balance. She stands there, cold and damp but beautiful in the rain, her dark hair plastered against her body. Her chest is heaving for breath and she slowly raises her hands in the form of surrender. I stare uncomprehendingly at her, my body tense. I slowly realize there I'm wearing a look of distrust on my face and my palm is splayed out towards her, my Lumen shining forth. I'm shaking in the rain, water running down my face to the mud below my feet. With a single though I could hurl her into the sky, or slam her against the ground with a second.

I imagine what I must seem like to her, wild and ragged, poised to attack. I'm suddenly overcome by a sense of fear and dread. This is Six. My best friend since I could ever remember. I love her. Yet I'm still standing her, a bomb waiting to blow, about to blast her to oblivion. I don't know what I'm doing, and it terrifies me.

I shake my head, spraying rain droplets into the air, "Don't."

I start to slowly back away, my hand still aimed at her, shaking, "Just don't."

She starts forward, sensing what I'm about to do, a distraught look marring her pretty face, "Four, please-"

Whatever she might have said is lost to the wind as I turn and race away, my Legacy allowing me to separate us miles apart in the matter of seconds. I'm screaming, furious and terrified at myself, in my head as I bolt through the depths of Lorien, running nearly faster than I ever have before, fueled by my unexplainable anger and terror. Miles flash by in bursts no longer than a second, and I'm standing on top a plateau before Six has probably even finished speaking. The rain is constant, pelting me relentlessly as I stand still surveying the expanse of flat rock encompassing me.

I take a deep and ragged breath and look up at the fury splitting the sky above my head. I need to calm down, figure this all out. My mind reaches out to Brandon's teachings, how to reach an inner peace within one's self through meditation. They'd never worked for me before, and I'd always scoffed at their uselessness, but I could ever use them, now is the time. I shakily sit down and cross my legs, leaning back and sitting straight against the rain. I calm my breathing until I fall into a steady rhythm, the storm distant from my mind, now soft chimes luring me deep inside myself.

In and out. In and out. Nothing but peace and calm. My choices displayed before me in clear detail, no longer screaming in a rush, demanding my attention, but orderly in a clear line. Stay or go. …Stay. I'll not abandon my home so easily. Ignore the rest of the warnings or listen. …Listen. I may not know anything about them, but I truly believe that something is wrong. My breakdown today was enough proof of that. Tell everyone or not. …Don't. I don't need to burden anyone with this, and I could just be crazy after all. I can handle this. It'll turn out fine.

I take a deep breath, and then release it one last time. I'm finally at peace whatever came over me early has passed. I smile and take in the beauty of Lorien, peaceful and calm. I'm proud of myself; I should probably listen to those other tidbits of wisdom that Brandon drops more often. I tilt my head back and close my eyes, enjoying the suns' warmth. I'm not sure when it happens, but I can suddenly see the fire in my mind again.

I start forward in surprise, and it instantly disappears. I frown, puzzled, and then try to reach that level of calm again. It takes me a few minutes but I can eventually see the fire again. This time I don't panic, and sit calmly studying it. It's beautiful in a strange way, twisting out from me in a brilliant white spiral, reaching out to everything around me. Three other tendrils, all cloaked with wisps of shadow, reach out to me and intertwine with my flames. I somehow know that two belong to Pittacus Lore and Setrakus Ra, but I can't tell anything about the third.

I turn my attention to my own fire, and watch it spiral out from me. It's mesmerizing where it reaches the ground, seeming to both give and receive energy where my feet touch Lorien's earth. I t travels up and surrounds me, swirling a crackling sphere near my heart. I watch it, and get tingles of energy shot throughout my entire body. The fire flares brightly, and short energy streaks crackle out from the center. The entire world is black and white, everything outlined through the energy coursing through me. It's exhilarating.

I take another deep breath, and open my eyes. I still feel connected, and I hold my palm out on an impulse. I take one last breath, and then surge with whatever energy I'm feeling from this connection. My core of fire burns brightly, and then my mind is my own once more. I can tell something has changed within me, and I slowly stand to my feet. I have a guess, and I hold my hand out to Lorien's skyline, and then surge once more.

White lightning arcs out from my palm, raking the ground in front of me. Several strands shoot off into the sky from the continuous stream racing forward from my hand. I laugh, and increase the power. I can feel the heat from where I'm standing, and the ground beneath my feet is cracking as I drive a lightning bolt from the sky down in front of me. The air is littered with ozone, and my head and ears are ringing. I stagger back, shocked by my power. I look at my hand and clenched my fist, white lightning arcing through my fingers. I smiled. This might just be my saving grace. Finally, a weapon to use against my enemies, against my fear. I'll have to keep it secret, but it doesn't change the fact that it's finally here. At last, my final Legacy has arrived.

**UP NEXT:**

**Four struggles to control his new Legacy, and the others won't stop pressing him for answers on his mysterious breakdown.**

**The introduction of Sam Goode to Earth 2!**

**A/N: Go ahead, I'll let you say it this time. … Yep, you got it: Please review!**


	10. Chapter 10

**(Disclaimer: I don't own the Lorien Legacies series or any of these characters.)**

**10**

Four

I walk slowly through the streets of London, weaving in between the huge crowds of people headed to the Opening. It's there that the contestants of the Games will sign up to participate. Six and I will have to go soon, since it's only open for 24 hours. But I have to find her first, which is why I'm here in the first place, searching through the crowds.

If I know her at all, she's probably taking comfort with the rest of the Ten after my little "episode." I'm sure they'll be just as freaked out, and they've probably already told Brandon by now. I'll just have to come up with a convincing lie when the time comes. I was choking on something? I had a heart attack? No, none of those will work. It has to be realistic, or they'll never buy it.

I pause on a street corner, still muttering possible excuses to myself. Suddenly it strikes me that Six and the others may have already left for the Opening to enlist, and I turn back towards the center of the city. It's amazing how much faster I can go now, without having to fight against the tide. Of course, I could probably get there in seconds with my Legacy, but I use the time to keep coming up with possible explanations. Despite the severity of the situation, I still don't want to look like an idiot in front of my friends. Nine wouldn't pass up a chance like that. He'd hold it over my head endlessly. Probably will, even if I do come up with something convincing.

I reach the city plaza, and veer off to the Providence Tower where the Loric have set up several enlistment booths. Anyone can join, Garde or Cêpan, though they have to be over the age of fifteen. There's a wide range of events, from normal athletics like running or swimming, some skill sports like shooting or archery, and of course the creative human games that have boomed in popularity across Lorien, like basketball or soccer. But by far the most watched and enthralling are the Combat Games. There are several different styles, but the main event, the one Six and I are enlisting in, is the most watched and anticipated. The Loric usually have an advantage with their Legacies, and the Mogadorians have their arsenal of magical weapons and items. And of course the humans level the playing field with their own weapons and technology, using special armor for their "super soldiers." I find those especially interesting, and I know Sandor has tried to create a suit that would work on a Garde, though he's so far been unsuccessful. I've heard that he's made some breakthroughs on a variation to be used by the Cêpans though.

I enter the doors and peer over the many heads lining up for enrollment. The line stretches all across the hallway and lobby, seeming endless. I walk by slowly, searching for Six's familiar raven hair or Maggie's bright red frizzy mane, but I don't see any of them. Disgruntled and discouraged, I reluctantly take up a spot at the end of one of the lines, figuring I may as well sign up now rather than later.

I'm still looking for the others when I feel a tap on my shoulder, and I turn around. It's Sam Goode, Malcolm's kid. Son of the human ambassador. I've never really talked him, just once when his dad had him tag along on a meeting at my house, where he needed to talk to my grandfather, who's some kind of public representative in our government. He struck me as a bit odd and awkward, with his frizzy hair and reserved composure, though he becomes _really_ fumbling and overexcited whenever he asked anyone about our Legacies. The kid's obsessed with them, with the idea of having powers. I've heard some of the kids call him Moody Goode, and I can kind of see why whenever he has that personality shift.

"You're Number Four, right?" he asks, biting the inside of his cheek, clearly nervous.

"Yeah." I say slowly.

"I'm Sam."

"I know. Malcolm's kid. You came over to my house once."

He shifts uneasily, and retracts his hand, which has been waiting patiently the entire time. I never even noticed it, and I stick mine out hastily with a wry smile.

"Whoa, sorry. I didn't evens see your hand there. My bad."

He bobs his head up and down nervously, a blush creeping through his cheeks as he sticks his out excitedly, like an overeager child reaching for a cookie hot off the stove. I shake his hand and then let my own drop to my side. He stands there silent and awkward, and I feel an irresistible need to break the silence, uncomfortable with how this conversation is going already.

"So." I say, drawing the word out.

"Sorry," he says and blushes, "I've just never really talked to one of _you_ before. One of the Ten."

I'm trying to decide if I should be offended by the way he said "one of you", but I decide to let it slide. I seriously doubt this scrawny kid is trying to pick a fight with me.

"Yeah, I get it. Chosen Ones and all."

He smiles weakly, and gestures towards the slow moving line, "So, you gonna enlist in something?"

"Yeah," I say, relived to be able to talk about _something_, "Combat Games. You?"

He shakes his head, "Nah, I'm not exactly Chuck Norris material."

I stare at him blankly, "Who?"

He grimaces and blushes a little, "Never mind. You going solo or with a partner?"

I smile confidently, "With a partner. Me and my friend Six."

He blushes again, this time a deep shade of red, nearly purple, "Oh. I know her."

"Really?" I say with a raised eyebrow, ready to find out just _how_ he knows her, though I can guess. He's obviously got a crush of some kind.

"Yeah," he says uncomfortably, trying to move the conversation in a different direction, "You think you guys will do good?"

A good question, "I hope so. I mean, _I_ think we're good, but we'll never really know until we get in the thick of it."

"Maybe you can surprise them with something, like some secret trick or something."

I laugh inside my head. I wonder if being able to fry someone to a crisp with a lightning bolt would qualify as a "secret trick." Unbidden, spurred on by that simple thought, a short arc of electricity races across my fingertips. I quickly shove my hands in my pockets. It wouldn't do much good for Sam to learn my secret mere hours after I've discovered it myself.

I shrug, "Maybe we can come up with something."

He nods slowly, "Yeah," there's a slow pause in our conversation, and he fidgets around, trying to come up with something, "So what are your legacies? Besides telekinesis, of course."

The alarms in my head go off, and I can't help but wonder if he's really asking from curiosity or for a deeper purpose. He may seem like a nice kid, but the Stranger warned me to not trust anyone, even nerdy, awkward humans. But it can't hurt to tell him what everyone already knows. He's always been obsessed with Legacies and the Loric. Part of growing up here away from his home planet, I guess. He's probably just curious for some information, after all.

I regard him a bit cautiously, "How do you know about our telekinesis? Most humans don't know that."

He gives a slightly nervous smile and shifts his weight, "I read a lot. Plus you know, I'm…kinda in to you guys. The Loric, I mean."

I nod to myself. Just curious after all, I decide, "Well, I have Lumen. You know what that is, right?"

He nods excitedly and lists off some explanation that sounds like an official definition from a textbook, "The ability to display blinding light from a Loric's hands, along with a limited form of pryokinesis. It also grants the user invulnerability to heat and flame."

I'm impressed, he must be seriously into this stuff, "Uh, yeah. Um, I also have precognition. You know, the see the future thing? And super-speed of course. I use that one a lot."

He drinks up the information with excitement lighting his eyes, "So you're still waiting for your last Legacy, the one that lets you fight?"

My hands start crackling again, and I shove them deeper into the pockets of my jacket. I can feel the rush of energy arcing through my hands, and it takes all my self-control to keep it contained. It's so hard to not give in and let that power race through my body, pure lightning splaying out from my palms, obliterating everything in its path. It's like my Legacy _wants_ to be let free, to be turned upon the world around me. I seriously have to learn to control it, to reel it in. I feel like a walking time-bomb.

"Yeah," I lie, "but I think I can still fight pretty well. And Six has hers, so I can count on her during the Games."

"What Legacies does she have?" he asks.

"Telekinesis, like everyone else. Weather manipulation and invisibility."

His eyes light up, "Invisibility? That's crazy! Do you know that only one percent of the Loric have that legacy? It's super rare!"

"I know," I say, once again surprised at his knowledge, "My grandfather has it too. I've even used it before a couple times. You know, with a Xiathris."

"That's so cool." He says dreamily, eyes still shining.

"It's pretty awesome." I agree.

He shakes his head, "Legacies are awesome."

I nod again and say halfheartedly, "Maybe you could find a Loric that has the Legacy of Transference. Then you could try it for yourself."

We both know it's a false hope, though. The Loric guard their Legacies very closely. We almost never let any humans or Mogadorians try them out. It's like a violation of Lorien's trust in us. The other species resent us for it, but we don't care.

He looks so sad, I try to change the subject again, "So what's life on Earth like?"

His eyes light up again at the chance to show off his knowledge again, and he launches into a speech about his home planet. We talk for hours as the line slowly moves forward, me asking questions about certain things I don't understand or find interesting. I actually find myself honestly interested. Earth sounds like an amazing place, somewhere I'd like to go someday. And, despite his awkwardness and overwhelming enthusiasm, Sam is starting to grow on me. He's definitely quirky, but he's weird in a kind of endearing way.

After a couple hours of discussion we finally reach the enlistment desk, and I enter Six and myself. The man is curt and downright rude, and it's obvious he doesn't want to be here. He mistakes Sam for my partner, and even has the nerve to tell us that we'll get creamed in the arena. I feel a rush of irritation and my palms react, still stuffed in my jacket, sparking to life with electricity. It once again takes an enormous amount of self-control to calm down and return them to normal.

"Next!" the bored looking Cêpan calls out, and as we leave I can't help but feel a little bad for him. It can't be fun sitting there all day, taking names with that endless line stretched out before him.

We walk out the front steps, and I immediately spot Six and the others slowly walking towards the tower. She looks upset, with One's arm around her shoulders. She's not crying though. I've never seen Six cry, even when she was a kid. She's too tough for that. I still don't know what I'll say to her, but I'm confident I can come up with something on the spur of the moment. Two spots me immediately with her Legacy, and I motion for her to wait for me to keep quiet, that I'll come to them, and she nods in understanding, red curls bouncing up and down.

I turn to Sam and hold out my hand, "It was good talking to you. Maybe I'll see you around sometime."

He takes it slowly, obviously in awe, and nods excitedly, "Yeah, definitely. We should totally hang out again sometime."

"Sure," I nod, and then I speed away with my Legacy.

I slow up standing at the edge of the plaza, and then shift back into real-time. Six spots me immediately, and she and the others rush forward. I step forward and am then launched back as Six tackles me in a flying hug. She's clinging tightly to me, and I smile in relief and put a soothing hand on her back.

"Hey," I say, "I'm fine."

She releases her hold on me and steps back, a fierce fire lighting up her eyes. Uh-oh. I know what's coming up next.

"You won't be in a minute. What the hell happened? Where were you?"

I smile soothingly at her, but it does nothing to hold back the pent-up anger she's shooting at me, "I'm fine now. I just had a panic attack. Too many people in one place. I just felt trapped, so I went to get some fresh air, that's all."

Nine smirks, "You expect us to believe that fit was just a panic attack? You were freaking out, dude."

Five shoots him a glance, and I'm relieved that at least someone has taken my explanation, "Seriously? You've never even seen one before. My older sister used to have them, and that's what happens. _People freak out_."

"What about the forest?" Six asks accusingly, though I can tell she's slowly deflating.

"I just needed some time alone," I lie quickly, and step forward to put my arm around her shoulders, "I'm sorry I scared you."

She nods slowly, actually accepting my explanation. I can't believe it actually worked. But she's not done with me yet, and she drives her finger into my chest threateningly.

"Next time you do that I swear to Lorien I'm gonna find you and turn you into road-kill. You worried the hell out of me. Out of all of us. No more running off into the forest."

I smile cheekily, "Yes ma'am. Next time I'll be sure to bring you with me."

She blushes and everyone laughs. Nine laughs out lets a rising, "Ooooooh!"

One steps forward and hugs me, and then jokingly slaps my cheek lightly, "I'm just glad this doofus here is back and okay, even if he is still an idiot."

I smile again, patronizingly shaking my head, "Well, this _idiot_ was smart enough to get into line early and sign up himself and his partner."

Eight looks over at the huge line of people stretching out along the plaza and up through the streets. He suddenly loses the smile on his face and looks mourningly at the tower, "That's a long line."

One smacks him on the head, "No shit, Sherlock. Now let's go before it gets even longer."

Hannu looks at me pleadingly, "You couldn't have just signed us up when you were there?"

Five shakes her blond head, "He's not allowed. Only partners can sign each other up."

Hannu lets out a groan and then follows One as she leads the others to the end of the line. Nine sighs and follows them slowly, and I slap him on the back.

"Cheer up, buddy! It only took me five hours!"

I turn back to Six, and Maggie and Ella, who aren't competing. I lean close and whisper conspiratorially, "It'll probably take him ten."

Ella giggles at Nine's obvious dejection, and he just moans even louder and trudges off to the others. Two shoves Ella with her elbow, and looks up at us.

"Ella and I have to go talk to Conrad. We'll see you later."

She leads Ella off, who's protesting that _she_ doesn't have to go see Conrad, and I smile gratefully at her. I need some alone time with Six right now, to just joke around and reassure her that everything is normal. I glance at my watch and then lean forward to snake my arms around her waist from behind, my head leaning against her shoulder near her ear. Her soft hair tickles my skin, and I smile softly. This is where I belong. I'm once again sure that my decision to stay was the right one. I won't run and leave Six. I'm staying right here.

"It's only 3:00," I murmur into her ear, "What do you say we go for a late lunch, just me and you?"

She smiles as she leans against my back, then pushes off to face me, and gives me a half-joyous, half-warning look, "As long it's not McDonald's again."

I freeze guiltily. I thought that one went well last time. Maybe I still need to get this whole boyfriend thing down.

"Fine. Burger King."

"Four!"

"What?"

**UP NEXT:**

**Let the Games begin! Four and Six's first match looms near!**

**Meanwhile, Four struggles with the overload of training and trying to control his latest Legacy, and dark dreams of the future.**

**The Stranger draws closer, ready to take Four away!**

**A/N: As always, please review! And, on a slightly less happy note, I just want to explain why it's been talking so long. High school's fun, but eats up pretty much all of my free time. I maybe get to write one day a week or so, so the gaps in between chapters might be pretty spaced out over time. Sorry for the delay, but I'll do my best.**


	11. Chapter 11

**(Disclaimer: I don't own the Lorien Legacies series)**

**11**

Four

The next few weeks are filled with more preparation and training then I've ever had in my whole life. Brandon is grilling me relentlessly, throwing more at me than I've ever had. I barely have enough time to keep up with my studies, let alone see Six. The only time I get to see her is in the mornings when we do partner work, but Brandon and Katarina have taken to training us individually before they throw us together. That's supposed to be sometime soon, and Brandon's promising me I'm getting better. Add all of this to the fact I'm spending all my free time out on the plateau trying to control my new Legacy and it's easily the most harrowing time of my life. I've even woken up in the middle of the night sometimes so that I can practice. It's hard, but I'm making progress, and my hands no longer flare up whenever I get angry or think about them. Now I'm stuck with the difficult task of figuring out how to shoot different types of lightning bolts.

And, on top of all _that_, my precognition Legacy has started messing with me. The few dreams I have are filled with dark images, and I sometimes see the Stranger racing through the forest, pursued by something horrible. I know he's in terrible danger, risking his life to protect me from something, but I can't help but hope he never makes it to London. Then he'd have to take me away, and I don't want to leave Six or my family behind.

It all only makes me exhausted, and I'm especially tired as I walk into the Lecture Hall after another sleepless night of trying to control my latest power. I stumble over to where Nine, Eight and Three are sitting and collapse against one of the padded chairs.

Nine looks me over with narrowed eyes, "Dude, you look like shit."

"Sorry," I grumble and hold my hands up to my forehead, "It's been a long couple of days."

Three cracks a smile, "Six is pretty demanding, huh?"

I snort, and Nine throws a sarcastic arm around my shoulders, "Nah, more like he's worried about his first Games match tomorrow."

I bolt upright, "What? That's tomorrow?"

Nine snickers, "Dude, has your head been under a rock for the past week? It's all anyone's talking about. The Games finally begin."

I stand up shakily, "I need to go."

Eight frowns, "Where? What's up?"

I shake my head and start for the door, "I just need some time alone."

I run into Brandon on my way out, and he stops me and grabs me by my shoulders, "Four? Where are you going?"

I shrug him off quickly, "I just need some time alone."

He turns as I walk past him for the door and spreads out his hands pleadingly, "But what about training? There's way too much we have to do before your first match tomorrow!"

"It'll have to wait."

I'm gone before he can even respond, racing off with my Legacy to the plateau. I reach it before he's probably even walked back to the others. I feel slightly bad, leaving Six behind, but I need to collect myself before it all begins. Before it ends.

I walk slowly to the center of the plateau, the ground beneath me cracked open by the fury of the sky, a power I called upon. I wonder what the Loric have thought of this place, this rocky tower where lightning splits the earth every night. Since the night I first discovered my new ability I've been preparing, using it here. And I've studied it. It's the rarest Legacy, only showing up once every 500 years or so. As far as I can tell no one else alive on the planet has it. Just me, alone.

I slowly approach a ring of ten pillars surrounding a small stone pedestal containing a pure white, glassy stone embedded into the rock. I walk carefully, as though on holy ground. Every time I come here I'm filled with peace, and a simultaneous fear of everything I have to lose. But that's not the only reason I come: here is where the shadows dwell. Ever since that first day, when I first saw the ropes of fire binding me to the planet, I've also seen the shadow. It reaches up from the ground like a misty smoke, a foul plague from beneath the planet. It's tendrils reach out to me, burned away by my fire. But for some, it envelops them. I've seen people and places completely engulfed in its smoke, tainted by its touch. And I know that it is evil.

It reaches out to me now, hungry. It billows out from the pedestal a wave of mist rolling out into the world, swirling about my feet. But the pedestal itself is burning, although it holds a dim fire, just barely staying alight, slowly being engulfed by the dark. I'm filled with an unspeakable sadness, watching it slowly be overcome by the darkness each passing day. It's an ill omen for me, and I don't want anything to do with it, yet I can't bring myself to ignore it. I'm fascinated by its staggering beam of light, flickering dimly amongst the tendrils of black smoke billowing up from the ground. I often sit before it and think, trying to make sense of everything happening, as I'm doing now.

I settle down to the rocky ground and close my eyes, trying to find peace. Everything's suddenly moving so fast now. I'd always told myself that I had plenty of time to figure things out, but my first match of the Games is already tomorrow. Add on the stress from all these dreams, things with no concrete proof that the danger I dread even exists, and I'm amazed I've managed to not run off screaming into the forest. I'm actually pretty proud of myself. Granted, I did have that one breakdown, but I'm trying to dwell on the positive side of things. And best of all, I finally hooked up with Six, something I've been struggling to do for the past year or so. Compared to all of this, the Games should be a piece of cake.

As long as I forget that there will be the entire _worlds_ watching my every mistake I'll end up making, laughing at my every failure. Everyone will be expecting me to live up to the reputation of being one of the Ten, and I'll let them all down. Worst of all, I'll make Six so embarrassed she probably won't even look at me. And the she'll probably…crap, crap, crap. Happy thoughts, Happy thoughts. I'm totally gonna kick butt at the Games. Six might even kiss me again. Maybe this time on the lips. Mmmmm…that's a happy thought alright. Now I just have to win that first-

"Hello, Four."

My eyes snap open to reveal a dark, shadowy figure in front of me. I scramble back in shock, startled. No one's has ever found me here. It's a man, clothed in dark Loric robes and battle armor, like the relics from the First Age I've seen in the museums in London detailing our history. He wears a hood over his head, shrouding his face in shadow, with his jawline barely visible.

He holds a hand, sheathed in scarred metal as part of his armor, "I've waited a very long time for you."

Then he's gone, and I'm alone once more. I cautiously get to my feet, staring warily around me. There's a tap on my shoulder, and I spin with my speed, but he's gone before the through to turn even registers in my brain. I see a figure in my peripheral vision, and when I turn he smirks at me. Then he's gone. I'm starting to get nervous now, as I suddenly realize that I'm out here all alone. No one even knows I'm here. Usually I'd be able to run with my Legacy, but something tells me that this man would stop me before I even take a step. And that scares me, the possibility that he could be faster.

He appears in front of me again, this time only a few feet from me. He slowly circles me, studying me, and I continue to turn to face him. There's no way even in a frozen hell that I'd leave my back open to someone like this. I'm cautious, nervous even, but not really scared. Not until I enter that sixth sense, that special perception of the world around me, with the fire and shadow. It's then that I realize that this man before me is shrouded in that shadow, and it chills me to the bone. Before, I've seen people cloaked by it, drifts of smoke swirling about them like a barrier from the rest of the world. But they all still had a fire, some dimmer than others, but still there nonetheless. Everyone did, even Setrakus Ra.

But this man, this thing before me, is completely dark. Devoid of any light at all. He trails shadows, drifting through the air behind and around him, black smoke pouring out from him like some infectious disease. It was horrifying, that sudden, simple realization.

He nodded, the smirk still plastered on his face, "You caught on faster than the others. Much faster."

He stops, and continues to nod slowly, "There may still be a use for you. I'd come here to deal with you as I did the others, but I was…_unaware_ of your special conditions. I suppose I'll now have to reconsider."

I have no idea what he's talking about, but I'm certain none of it bodes well for me, and I react like a cornered animal, with an attack.

"Enough of this." I snarl, and fling out my hand.

Thunder rumbles, and a massive bolt of lightning splits the sky, roaring down upon him like a dragon howling after its prey. The ground beneath me shakes, and I stagger back when a massive amount of energy leaves me, sending me staggering back, black spots dancing around my vision. Ozone permeates throughout the air, and when the smoke clears there's nothing there. I sigh in relief and wipe my forehead, but when I open my eyes again I'm once again sent staggering backwards, this time from a shock.

He' standing there, _smiling_ at me in amusement. That was a big enough bolt to take out a battalion of Garde. The ground beneath him is cracked, split like glass, still smoking, but he's just _standing there_. I stare at him in disbelief, and he slowly shakes his head. When I blink again he's gone, and I'm left alone in the middle of a rocky plain with a smoking, shattered patch of molten earth.

I come home late that night to find Brandon waiting for me in the front yard, leaning against the gate. He looks me over with worried eyes and I simply stand before him, waiting for him to break the silence.

"You were gone for a while," he remarks slowly, "you were starting to get your grandmother worried."

"I'm fine," I say, "I just needed some time to think. There's been a lot of stuff going one lately."

He nods and puts an arm around my shoulder, guiding me down to the porch. We sit silently for a minute, just staring out into the night and listening to the sounds of the city before he turns to me.

"Do you know what it means to be a Cêpan?" he asks.

"It means you're my guardian," I say silently, "you teach me to control my Legacies."

He pauses, "Do you know what that word means? Guardian?"

"It means you'll protect me." I say, not sure where this is going.

"With my life," he replies solemnly, "but I'm also here to protect this." He says and touches a finger to my forehead.

"Yes, the Cêpan are meant to protect you physically and teach you to control your Legacies, but you could do that without my help if you really had to. It be a long, hard, nearly impossible process but you'd do it, Four. But your mind is another matter entirely. I'm here to teach you our heritage, your heritage. There's a lot of simple things like that I teach you that end up in there, provided you actually listen to me." We share a smile at this and he pauses before going on.

"But we're really here to prepare you for the day that you won't need us. And that day isn't when I've taught you everything I know or passed down all my secrets. It's that day that I teach to use your greatest weapon to its greatest extent. Yes, Legacies are fantastic tools, but they aren't your greatest asset. They aren't the only thing that sets us apart from the humans or Mogadorians. It's our hearts, our minds. A willingness to sacrifice anything for this place or each other, a selflessness that's only found when we fully open our minds to understand what's around us. Once you understand why, you figure out everything you need to know. But as great as the mind is, it can also be a terrible tool to wield upon yourself. Doubts and the lies we tell ourselves can be more dangerous than any sword. So I'm also here to protect your mind as well as your body, to tell you that everything will turn out fine, and that you'll come out on top just like you always do, Four. No matter how nervous or scared you are about tomorrow, it won't change anything. You have to accept your fear, and move on. That's when you finally realize that you were doubting yourself for nothing. Can you do that?"

I nod slowly, Brandon's words affecting me more than he knows. I have so much to fear, but so much to look forward to. He's right. My mind is turned against me, but if I can accept my fear and move past it, then I can use it to ensure my future. All I need is the confidence that somehow, someway, things will turn out well. And Brandon's just given me the foundation to believe that everything will.

"Brandon?" I ask and turn to him.

"Yeah, kiddo?" he smiles at me.

"Thank you."

**UP NEXT**

**Four and Six's first match of the Games!**

**A/N: Hey all, it's been a while. First off, I want to apologize this took a whole month to put up. I just got buried with schoolwork, and this has been the first time I've really been able to sit down and write for a really long time. I know it's no excuse, but I'm hoping some of you will know where I'm coming from. I'll try my best to make sure something like this won't happen again, but it all really depends on how it goes. Anyways, I'll try and get at least one or two more chapters on this up before the end of Xmas break, and another for Fallen Legacies. Just please don't murder me on the review boards. :) Merry Christmas, everybody. (We're all still here! I knew that Mayan Calendar thing was a bust!)**


	12. Chapter 12

**(Disclaimer: I don't own the Lorien Legacies series.)**

**12**

Four

I stand nervously before the set of doors that will lead to the outside arena, Six at my side. After a long sleepless night, we're finally about to enter our first match of the Games. Everyone we know will be here: family, friends, and the rest of the Ten. The panic inside me is building up as I hear the roar of the crowd outside, but I force it down as I recall Brandon's speech. My confidence only skyrockets as Six takes my hand and smiles at me.

"What?" she asks, "I'm not allowed to hold your hand?"

I smile, "Sorry. Just pleasantly surprised."

"Yeah, well, get ready, because I don't think any of the surprises out there are going to be pleasant."

"That's a pretty good guess."

"Of course it is. I made it."

We pause silently, and then the doors start to slide open with a silent hiss that's lost in the roar of the crowd. I'm about to step forward when Six gently pulls me back.

She looks up at me and asks with a half-smile, "You gonna hold me back out there?"

I know her well enough that this is an act; that when she gets nervous she puts on a false bravado the fools nearly everyone. So when I answer, it's not just some snappy comeback, but really a reassuring promise.

"Not a chance."

She smiles, a real one this time, and we link hands as we walk out to the center of the arena. The noise has a physical presence, nearly bursting my eardrums, and I can only imagine how horrible it must be for Two and others with enhanced hearing. Any noise my shoes might have made on the smooth steel floor is lost in the roar of the crowd, and the lightweight battle armor they gave us beforehand is starting to grow slick with sweat. It makes me glad that both Six and I declined a helmet.

Lorien's twin suns shine down on us through the exposed roof as we approach two figures walking towards us from the other side of the field. They're obviously Loric, and it makes me glad that our first opponents won't be Mogadorians, but rather someone at least slightly familiar. They're both strong, well-built men with dark hair and blue eyes, clearly twins or siblings of some kind. One has a gauntlet of ridged metal armor traveling up his arm, obviously the one piece of Inheritance from his Chest that each contestant is allowed to use. I can feel the weight of my blinding stone bump against my leg through my jeans pocket as we reach the center of the stadium.

Six and I stand tall and confident, but they snort as they look us over, clearly not impressed with the pair of teenagers standing in front of them. I wonder if the knowledge that we were members of the Ten would change their minds about us, although it wouldn't do us any good until we actually learned how to use our special powers. I can dimly hear the announcer speaking over the roar of the crowd, but it's as if I'm miles away. I'm solely focused on the men in front of me, and how I can take them out quickly and effectively. They're both bigger than us, so we'll have to use our speed to an advantage. Luckily for me, I happen to possess a certain Legacy that might come in handy with that. I once again consider using my latest Legacy to take them out swiftly, but I come back to the same decision I made last night: that it's better kept a secret until the danger I see in my dreams actually finds me.

The men step forward and offer their hands, and I shake them warily, quickly stepping back to stand by Six as soon as I'm done. We both back several paces away from each other as a large clock counts down to zero from ten. Six crouches down in a defensive position, and the man in front of me licks his lips in anticipation.

Then the gong chimes and I've instantly launched myself forward with my Legacy, tackling the man before me to the ground. I stand over him and prepare to land a solid blow on his face just before his eyes turn to an electric shade of blue, and I'm suddenly launched through the air easily thirty feet. I land hard on my back, momentarily winded. I get to my feet to see him running on a flat out charge and roll to the side just in time, my Legacy the only thing that saved me from being squashed like a pancake. He momentarily slows as he prepares to turn, and I use the opportunity to land another blow on his back, but I'm once again sent flying through the air as soon as I make contact. By the time I hit the ground it's finally registered that he must have the Legacy of Repulsion, the ability to repel anything that touches him, sometimes with great force, like sending me shooting through the air like a rocket.

As I get to my feet I catch a glimpse of Six rolling around, dodging blows from the other man's fists. Then my attention is once again fully focused on my opponent charging me once more. I just barely manage to deflect him face-first into the ground beside me with a telekinetic shield, but as he falls he manages to sweep my legs out from under me with a telekinetic swipe of his own and land me flat on my back. We both groggily get to our feet but he's there first, and garbs me by the shoulders. He starts to repeatedly knee me in the stomach and groin, and I hunch over from the pain, my armor doing nothing as far as protection goes. Black spots dance around my vision and he continues his assault, at least until I use my Lumen to heat my body temperature to over a thousand degrees. He cries out as his hands are instantly burned, and I lash out with a backhanded blow to his stomach that sends him flying a good twenty feet or so. I gasp and sink to one knee, intending to use the little time I have to recover and then wait for him to come to me, but I'm once again thrown to the side by an invisible force.

From across the field Six's opponent smiles at me, and hurls me again with his telekinesis to his brother's feet, who then promptly takes the opportunity to kick me straight in the face and send me skidding across the floor. I groan as I stagger to my feet, and berate myself for forgetting that there are two opponents in this game. As my enemy charges me yet again I sink to one knee just as he reaches me, then use his own momentum to flip him over me onto the ground. I stand and move away, and then begin to use my telekinesis to whip him back in forth into the ground in a continuous arc. He comes up more battered each time, and when he finally starts to grow too heavy to carry with my mind, I hurl him in one last effort across the arena. He's down but most certainly not out, and very, very angry about having his ass handed to him by a teenager. So I do the sensible thing and run away.

I bolt across the field with my Legacy and tackle Six's opponent who's summoned some winter storm to combat Six's thundercloud, and I burn where my skin touches his metal gauntlet that encompasses his arm. She seemed to be doing better than me, but I need both of us for this to work. So I roll off him before he can react and grab Six by the arm, and then throw down my blinding stone at his feet, leaving him incapable of seeing anything but a searing white light. I race her away with my Legacy, and then pause to touch a bruise on her arm.

"Are you okay?" I ask worriedly, "That looks like it hurts."

"Are _you_ okay?" she asks with concern, "You look like you got run over by a truck."

I smile grimly, "Yeah, well, you see-" and then freeze once she puts a finger to my lips.

"Not the best place to sit down and have a chat. What's your plan here?"

"Right," I say and glance at the twins, once stumbling about blinded and the other racing towards us with murder in his eyes, "See Frankenstein over there? Hit him hard with everything you got. We're not gonna beat these guys unless it's two on one."

She nods, "Buy me time." and then closes her eyes and she concentrates on forming a blistering hot fireball.

I exhale slowly, and then erect several telekinetic brick walls between us and him. He smashes through the barriers, but by the time he reaches us he's slowed down considerably. But he's still going too fast, so I make him suffer the ultimate humiliation and race towards him with my Legacy, and then trip him. Yes, it sends me flying and I land very painfully on my back, a place I seem to ending up a lot today, but it also lands him sprawling at Six's feet.

She smiles down at him, and then simply remarks, "This might sting a little." before hurling down a sweltering fireball on his unprotected back. Obviously it doesn't kill him, or else we'd go to jail for the rest of our lives, but it's certainly enough to put him out of the competition. That just leaves his twin, who isn't too happy to see his bro burned like and overcooked turkey, and summons up a massive winter storm after finally regaining his eyesight. Imagine that; being blind and then cured, and then the first thing is your bro burnt to a crisp by two crazy teenagers. What a day.

Six runs over and helps me to my feet, and we share a deep smile before refocusing on the task at hand. Evil Santa Claus is stalking towards us swiftly, his fury swirling about in an icy maelstrom. Already I can feel goose bumps traveling along my arms and see my breath cooling in front of me.

He strides toward us and throws out his arms, "Do you really think I will be bested by children? I applaud your efforts, but your road ends here."

"We'll see about that." Six mutters, and then turns invisible and backs away from my sight.

I take a deep breath and then use my Lumen to once more skyrocket my temperature to thousands of degrees. As I start to move towards the storm I reflect on happy I am that for whatever reason, my clothes aren't melting off from the heat. Then the wind stings my face as tiny shards of ice whip through the air like bullets, shattering into each other and sending even more splinters whirling about in this nightmare and surviving becomes my sole focus. I set up a fishnet of telekinesis around me, so that the smaller shards will slip through, but the larger chunks of ice will be shattered before they reach me. The rest of the splinters melt as soon as they reach me, protecting me from the worst of the storm. Unfortunately, this takes up a lot of my energy, and severely limits my movement as my opponent rushes me, closing the distance between us. I dodge the first overhead swipe, but an undercut sends me sprawling backwards. I'm momentarily disoriented, and my shield lowers for the briefest of an instant, exposing me to the fury of the storm. It's just enough time for a block of ice the size of a small rock blast into my head at hundreds of miles an hour, lifting me off my feet. The wind actually whips me around and then down near my opponent's feet. He leans down to nail me in the stomach, but I grab him by the arm, intending to yank him down with me, before my hand erupts into searing pain where it touches the metal gauntlet that runs along his arm. I stagger back, and instead swipe his feet out from underneath with a rotating kick, wiping the smirk off his face.

We both quickly spring to our feet among the roar of the crowd and storm, trading blows. This has quickly degenerated into a fistfight, though we both use our telekinesis to add an extra punch to our blows. I manage to land several good hits, but I'm in worse shape than he is, and he's slowly forcing me into a defensive position. Our hands are both raw and red, mine from the wind and his from the heat, but neither of us lets up. I know that he'll eventually finish this, so it's a relief when Six suddenly appears, de-cloaking herself and then jumping up onto his back, and then yanking him own to the ground. She delivers two lightning fast blows to his ribcage, but then gasps as he grabs her, his hand encompassing her all the way around the neck, and then hurls her towards the side of the stadium wall near the bleachers, where she crumples. A cold wave of fury washes over me, and I rush him again despite my injuries, landing a blow on his face that resounds with an earsplitting crack, only to be sent flying into the ground beside his feet once more.

He growls and spits out a bloodied tooth, then turns to me, "I'll be back for you. But first I'm gonna have a little fun with your girlfriend."

I propel myself forward in a desperate lunge and my hand closes around his ankle. He looks down, and then I squeeze with a strength that can only come when someone you love is in danger, and I keep squeezing until I hear the bones crack. He lets out a ragged gasp and falls to his knees, wheezing in pain. I shakily get to my feet and then deliver one final wild blow to the back of his head, and then watch him keel over up against the metal floor.

I unsteadily sway back and forth, and then spit down on his unconscious figure, and say, "No you won't." just as a gong sounds.

I then proceed to limp over to Six amid the cheers of the crowd, too exhausted to use my Legacy. I sink down to the ground beside her and cradle her head until her eyes flutter open and she stares at me hazily.

"Hey." she says with a soft half-smile.

I smile broadly back, "Hey."

She struggles to get up, and I lean her against my shoulder, "What happened? I kinda blacked out for a little after he launched me."

"Well, as soon as you were out of it I went all apeshit on him till he just gave up and begged for mercy."

She laughs lightly, "I think I would have liked to see that."

I smile again, "You would have."

"So what really happened?"

I lift her up to see the cheering crowd and smile, "We won."

**UP NEXT:**

**Four and Six have won their first match of the Games!-What next?**

**Four comes face-to-face with someone who could save everything he cares about, at the cost of his standing with Six!**

**A/N: I have to say, it's good to be back. I could have saved this chapter as a backup until I finished the next one, but I thought I'd throw it out there a sorry for the past month. I'll probably be pretty busy for the next week or so, so this is probably it for the time being, unless I finish the Fallen Legacies chapter today. Once I've written two more chapters I'll post one again. My new plan is to always have at least one finished chapter as a backup in case I get behind schedule again, so I can just post that in the meantime if things go south. I know that a few people asked about skating as part of the Games, but it's mostly combat games. Sorry if I didn't make that clearer. Merry Christmas to everyone.**


	13. Chapter 13

**(Disclaimer: I don't own the Lorien Legacies series or any of its characters.)**

**13**

Four

Everything after our first match was a blur until we were taken out of the stadium into a waiting chamber. As soon as the door swung shut behind us I instantly sink down onto the couch lined up next to the wall, Six settling down beside me. I let out a sigh of contentment, and then casually attempt to put my arm around Six's shoulders. She gives me a teasing look, but settles herself into my shoulder. I smile and lean my head back. This is perfect, just me and Six together after an awesome win. As long as I can forget every little part of my body screaming out at me in pain I can stay in this little corner of heaven forever.

"That wasn't so bad." I say, pleased with myself.

She looks at me, "What? The fight where you got used as a new punching bag or your horribly concealed attempt to pick me up?"

I smile, "Both."

She smiles back, and then her expression softens in concern, "Are you sure you're ok?" she asks, laying a hand on my arm, sending tingles throughout my entire body, "That looks like it really hurts."

"Well, I wouldn't be much of a warrior prophesized to save the world if I couldn't take a few scratches, would I? Besides, it's nothing Marina or one of the medics couldn't handle."

She shakes her head, "The tough-guy routine is pretty tired, buddy. And don't forget what I can do with the weather."

"Wouldn't dream of it," I say, though I'm really thinking of what _I_ can do with the weather, specifically lightning. I wonder how she'd react if she knew.

"So, I've been meaning to ask you: who's the face in the clouds? Every time you whip up a storm like in the arena I see this crazy, ominous face."

She shrugs, "I'm not sure, but ever since I've been able to mess with the weather, it's always the same face that appears. I assume it's the face of whatever Elder I'm supposed to succeed."

"Yeah, probably. And here I thought it might be a crazy ex-boyfriend you've yet to get over."

"Because I obviously have a weakness for ninety year-old men. You know me so well, Four."

I smile and rest my head on top of hers, "Just making sure."

She smiles and leans back into me, closing her eyes, "You don't have to worry."

We're both quiet for a moment, and then she breaks the silence, "What do you think it's going to be like? All that responsibility?"

"Sorry?" I ask, not understanding.

"Succeeding the Elders."

"Oh. I don't know. Scary, I guess. We'll have the whole world looking to us."

She smiles sarcastically, "Then I guess it should be a piece of cake compared to today. We had three worlds watching us today."

She separates herself and turns to me with big innocent eyes, "Do you think my hair looked okay?"

I laugh and plant a light kiss on her forehead, "I think you looked great."

She smiles up at me and we both fall quiet. I get the feeling that something might happen and we're just starting to move towards each other when the door across the room bangs open in a flurry of noise and activity, causing us to jump apart and get off the couch. _Rats_. Our families and the Ten rush into the room, hugging us and calling out excitedly. I catch a brief glimpse of Six's blushing red face as our eyes meet when Three tackles me back on the couch in a crushing hug.

"Dude!" he calls out, "You guys did it!

I smile and pat him on the back, although I really want to launch him one continent over for running my chance with Six just then, "Yeah, I guess we did."

Nine and Eight are up next, both shaking me lightly and nodding approvingly, "Nice, dude. You looked good out there."

"Except for the part where you got your face bashed in. Do your balls hurt?" Nine adds with a smirk, but I know even he is happy for me.

"Yeah," I reply, and then move past them to receive a crushing hug from Maggie, her red curls obscuring my vision.

"Hey there," I say when she finally steps back and looks up at me.

"That was awesome out there! You looked like a Sentinel or something!"

"Thanks," I smile and see two blond heads approaching me as One and Five walk up with Ella.

Five hugs me gives me with yet another crushing hug, and I feel as if my bones might crack from her super-strength. Karma for what I did to the man out there, I suppose.

"Nice job out there, boszo." She remarks and then smiles warmly.

One saunters up and slings an arm around my shoulders in a half-hug, "You actually had me impressed out there. Especially your little game of Whack-a-Mole with telekinesis. Wham, wham, wham!" she says as she illustrates how I hurled the man back and forth with her free hand.

Next up is Ella, who gives me a gentle but sweet hug, careful not to touch any of my bruises, "You did really good out there," and after sensing my earlier thoughts about Hannu earlier she adds, "And I'm sorry we ruined your chances with Six. I tried to get them to wait, but I couldn't stop them without flat-out telling them, so I just let them go ahead."

"It's fine." I smile down at her warmly.

She nods gratefully, "It's not like you'll get another chance soon, right?"

I nod as I look over to Six, who's talking with Marina, "Right."

"Hey!" she says excitedly as I move over to them.

"Hey, Four," Marina says, "Nice job out here."

"Thanks," I say, and then motion to my ribs, "Do you think you could patch me up before we head back?"

"Yeah, of course!" she says just as she lays an arm on my shoulder just as a familiar icy coolness enters my body. Because it hasn't even been an hour since my wounds were inflicted I can barely feel the freezing fire at all, and I'm as good as new within seconds.

"Thanks." I say again.

"No problem." She replies.

"You must be getting pretty tired of me coming to you all the time to heal broken bones and what not." I joked lightly.

She smiles, "It does seem to be happening pretty often." I reflect on how lucky I am to have Marina as a friend. She just has one of those kind hearts, a selflessness no one can match. She's always wearing a smile too. I'm lucky to have all of them, I realize. I'd be lost without the Ten. I can't imagine a life separated from them.

Marina leaves to greet our grandparents, who are just coming in the door, leaving me alone with Six. She gets a little nervous, but she knows I won't try anything with everyone. Kissing her in front of Nine would be gross enough, but in front of my grandmother? Yuck. She'd have to sit down give me an month long course on how to be a gentleman, and how to "treat a lady right." Of course, my grandfather would just slap me on the back, and tell me to call him when I finish my run on the ballpark.

"Hey, I'm gonna head off. I just need to sit and think for a while." I tell her.

She looks at me pointedly, "You've been doing that a lot lately. Ever since that freak-out at the Arrival Day you've been going out alone."

I just never realized how nice it is to be alone out there until I went on that exam with Nine," I reply, "Besides, this is nothing like the Arrival Day. I wasn't in the right frame of mind then."

"I remember," Six says sarcastically, "You almost blew my head off with telekinesis."

"About that…" I laugh weakly, but she just pushes me to the door as she saunters over to One and Five.

"Just go already. Call me when you get home."

I stare after her for a moment, and then move towards the exit. That's one call I won't miss. I run into my grandparents, and we talk for a few moments. They congratulate me on the win, and tell me that my parents will be over for dinner tonight, something I'm ecstatic about. My grandmother also informs that both of our opponents have been patched up, all their injuries removed by our Healers. At least I won't have to worry about that anymore.

The Dome is packed with Loric, human, and Mogadorian spectators leaving, and I'm instantly lost in the crowd. Our match was second-to-last, and the ensuing traffic has now caught up with me that I spent time talking to my friends and family. A pair of Mogadorians actually recognize me from one of the fights and pat me on the back, offering words of encouragement. I thank them, and struggle through the crowd. The amount of people is overwhelming, and I'm worried I might actually have a real panic attack, unlike the one I faked on the Arrival Day. Finally, I'm able to make it to a side exit and I can use my Legacy to speed away.

When I reach the forest's edge, however, I slow down and swing myself up into one of the trees towering over me. I've picked up the little habit from Maggie, after always seeing her climbing something in the city, her shiny red hair jumping out in contrast to so many of London's white, futuristic buildings. . It's hard to learn how to free-run, and my first couple tries resulted in me falling flat on my butt. Luckily, I started here in the forest, so no one could see me fail. I'm certainly not as good as Maggie, with her Legacy of Athletics granting her natural balance and agility, but I'm getting pretty good. I've had her coach me on it twice so far, and she's promised to take me out into the forest heights someday. I still haven't tried it in the city though; I don't think I'm quite good enough for that yet, or for so many eyes upon me.

I practice now as I head to the plateau, my usual respite. I balance along branches and jump from tree to tree, never letting my feet touch the ground except for when I use stepping stones to cross a river. I remember when I could make this route with less than twenty falls, and it fills me with a small sense of pride. I don't even have to use my telekinesis to balance myself anymore. In all, today has been a good one. I won at the Games, Six wants me to call her, my parents are coming over, and I've even managed to master free-running through the forest. So naturally, it all just has to go to hell.

The first sign is the one I don't even realize. I'm so deep in thought, I don't even recognize that I've run past the plateau. I frown and circle back, retracing the route. I soon enter a patch of wood I don't recognize, and cross over a stream gurgling between two trees that I don't ever remember being there. Troubled, I run lightly across a fallen tree and leap into the safety of a towering pine's branches. I swiftly ascend to the top, swinging my body through the leaves and branches. When I reach the top, towering over the entire forest, I pause, stunned, and finally realize that something is wrong. The plateau isn't there.

I scan the entire horizon, not believing it, but my eyes don't lie. Unwilling to accept it, I drop to the forest floor and race across miles of the wood with my Legacy. Where the pillar of rock should have been, is only unfamiliar forest. Nothing even appears with my sixth sense I gained on the Arrival. With every step I take, the fury and hurt in my heart grows deeper. I finally stop, and accept whatever happened. And then I lose it.

I turn my fury against the wood, splintering trees with my telekinesis, and then burn them to ash with my Lumen. I don't even understand. How the hell could a tower of stone miles wide simple disappear? I don't even understand when I'm _this_ upset, but I think I know. I had some unspeakable connection to that place, to the fire, and the shadow, welling up from the ground. That still flame, prevailing against all odds, gave me hope. Hope that I could overcome whatever darkness has been dwelling in my dreams, racing towards me. And now it, along with that hope, is gone. I shake, and the sky above me splits with lightning. It forks down in a bolt from the sky, splitting the trees before me to dust before they can even catch a flame.

I don't know how long I stay like that, but I soon sense something watching me. It has a physical presence, power emanating from it. It ripple s through the wood around me, crushing it through sheer willpower. It's unlike anything I've ever felt before, even my lightning. The only thing that even comes close is when I harnessed the fire for the briefest of seconds. This is continuous, stretching out to every aspect around me, overloading it with surges of energy. That's when I realize that it's coming from me.

I stagger back, shocked, and everything vanishes. The power, the crack of thunder, the groan of the wood around me as it crashed to the floor in a hail of fire. I stand shakily in the middle of a field of ash, flames licking and withering around its edge. I'm lo9st in my own world of shock, having destroyed the one around me.

Which is why it comes as such a shock when a searing white light erupts around me, burning me. I fall to the ground. This has never happened, I cannot be burned with my Lumen. The feeling has been gone for so long, it's only even more excruciating. I close my eyes against the miniature sun that has appeared in my midst, but it changes nothing. The fire roars through my entire body, both healing and destroying anything it touches. Then it subsides to the edge of my vision. I lay with my cheek against the ground, gasping, before I prop myself up. The blinding light hovers through a figure of a man standing before me, sharp contrast to the one made of shadow I saw the earlier day. I squint and raise my hand to shield from the glare, and then call out.

"Who are you?"

The light subsides, and all the shock from before comes rushing back, this time accompanied with awe. I know somehow, I've just inexplicably been saved from anything might ever harm with me, so long as I stay near this man. He wears ancient Loric robes, adorned with a simple yet elegant piece of Loric battle armor. A gleaming hilt of a sword calls out from his left hip, endorsed with black leather and a jewel of ocean blue Loralite in the pommel. The scabbard is dark black leather, concealing a gleaming, silver blade. He throws back his hood, the garment outline with silver around the edge, and reveals a stern, proud and powerful face, though not unkind. It is the face of a warrior, a leader, and one who has seen much throughout his long life. His stark black hair is as dark as the dead of night, short and cropped. His eyes are deep, filled with wisdom, and his brow is slightly crinkled, showing a man still in his prime, yet entering the age of the wise. His voice rings out across the clearing, strong and powerful, yet kindly and inspiring hope. But I know it could just as easily turn harsh and terrify even the bravest of foes.

"I should have known it would have been you, Number Four."

But I can't answer, only one thought racing through my head over and over again. I'm frozen, oblivious to all but his presence. I know this man, as anyone of any world from the Triumvirate does.

Pittacus Lore.

**UP NEXT:**

**The Stranger's face revealed!**

**Pittacus Lore reveals to Four his only chance, but it comes at a great price!**

**Who threatens Lorien?**

**A/N: Hey all. I just wanted to get this chapter out before Christmas break ends. I'm gonna try really hard to stick with this when school starts up again, but realistically it will be a chapter every one or two weeks. Unless of course, God intervenes and I receive barely any homework. But that's doubtful. I've got maybe seven or eight chapters planned out, but we're starting to move into the endgame of the first book. Thanks to everyone who's stuck with it so far, I never expected this much positive feedback. Also, anyone recognize the conversation between Four and Six at the start of the chapter from Power of Six? Happy 2013. (Wow, that feels weird to write. Had to retype twice from 2012)**


	14. Chapter 14

**(Disclaimer: I don't own the Lorien Legacies series or any of its characters.)**

**14**

Four

I can only stare in shock as Pittacus Lore looks down upon me. I've never actually met him, but I can now attribute to every story concerning his god-like presence. It's no small wonder that ancient humans once thought him to be one, proclaiming him "Zeus." It's a name some still call him today. I can't believe this man is standing in front of me. How are any of us supposed to reach his level of glory, or wisdom? Surely there can be no higher level of achievement than his. With the other Elders I've met, it was different. Lupa held a kind of mystic power, a silent, subtle presence yet laced with chills. Matoran was physically massive, standing nearly as tall as Setrakus Ra, with a warm handsome face, but the power of raging rivers behind him, threatening to break forth from the dam, always setting people on the edge of their seats. Pittacus's presence is all encompassing, controlling every aspect of my being, and the being of the world around him. You're completely enthralled. He just_ is_.

And so he stares down at me, and I respond with the most intelligent response ever.

"What?"

Mentally I cringe. Six would have my head if she ever learned of how big an idiot I was at this opportunity.

His face takes on a warm, graceful smile, yet sad, "I fear you have bigger worries than what your friend would say at this meeting."

I frown slightly, "Did you just…"

"Read your mind." He confirms, though not with his voice, but rather projecting the thought straight into my head.

I slowly get to my feet, "Of course. You have all the Legacies."

He smiles again, "Not something people often forget."

I ponder what it would be like to have that much power, to have such control.

His eyes grow sad, "It's a burden."

"Why?" I ask curiously.

He waves it away with a hand, "A concern for another day. I fear we have enough for this one alone, forget those to come."

I look at him, struggling to understand, a feeling I've really grown to hate in the past few days, "What do you mean? Why are you here?"

He tilts his head, "You do realize that those two questions could apply to any one of millions of situations? Details are of great importance in this life, Number Four."

I frown, "Can't just figure out what I'm thinking and answer it?"

He brought his head back and stood solidly upon the forest floor, "I certainly could, but most others can't. So I suggest you practice for that occasion."

"Why not just answer me here and now and save the time?"

"The tools used for crafting are a thousand times more valuable than the single product. A cliché, I know, but actually rather accurate in this case."

"I get the feeling I'm gonna receive a lot of these of 'tips' from you."

"_Going to_, not 'gonna'. And most assuredly. Now if you would stop wasting my time, _tell me_."

I'm instantly reminded who this man is, and I realize I've been speaking to him as if I might needle one of the Cêpans. I'm ashamed, and hope I haven't lost my chance to impress him.

"My dreams." I say, finally referring to the elephant in the room.

He nods slowly, "Not dreams. Visions."

I feel a sense of dread come over me, "They're real then?"

He nods gravely, "Most of them, yes. And unfortunately for us they aren't the happy ones."

I lick my dry lips, "So the Stranger, he exists? There really is danger?"

"Yes. Which brings forth my reason for being here now."

"You'll help me?"

He studies me carefully, "Of course."

"How?" I say weakly.

He nods, apparently satisfied with whatever he sees in me, "We'll start by taking you to a friend."

He turns and starts towards the forest's edge. I follow behind him, still in awe. He takes long, powerful strides, the edge of is Loric robes billowing out behind him. He commands power in even the slightest movement, and is brimming with confidence. I'm safe with him. He breaks into a run, and I follow him with my Legacy. He keeps pace effortlessly, the both us darting through trees and over cliffs and rivers. I can't help but think how amazing this, him being here. He almost never leaves his seat in London, yet he's here in the middle of this forest. With me.

I'm startled when his thoughts break into my head, "_You are too single-minded. Your Legacy grants you a great gift, but you only use it physically. The world stands still before you, and you take no notice. Look at what's in front of you, take in every blade of grass and every ray of sunlight. Apply your speed to your perception, and realize what has been under your nose all this time."_

I frown as I vault over a fallen limb, "_I can't just snap my fingers and make it work like that. My Legacy gives me speed, not some super Zen thought or something."_

_It does. Your eyes register everything as fast as you race through this forest. You can process a million thoughts in a single instant if you truly apply yourself. Within that solitary moment you can devise a hundred different ways to exploit and defeat any opponent."_

I remind myself that this is Pittacus Lore, the greatest of our race. One of us Ten is supposed to replaced him some day. If anyone can teach me anything, it's him. So I exhale a heavy breath and try to do what he described. I try to see everything as we race past, or have a million thoughts or whatever, but it doesn't work. I just strain my eyes and give myself a killer headache.

_"It will come with practice,"_ Pittacus promises telepathically, _"Keep working on it. Once you do master it, it will be an invaluable tool."_

"I'll try." I say doubtfully when we come to a stop. We're standing on the edge of a small cliff, looking down into a small clearing surrounded by heavy forests. A small waterfall starts a few feet from beneath us, and it cascades into a sparkling clear pool at near the rocky floor. It's a place of beauty, with rays of light from one of the suns in the sky filtering through the trees to the forest floor. A man waits below, his face turned down to the earth. He's massive, I can tell that much from even up here. Pittacus gracefully places a gauntleted hand on my shoulder, and I experience a brief sense of vertigo as I suddenly appear at the bottom of the valley besides the small pool.

Gravel crunches under his feet as Pittacus strides forward, with me close behind. Then the man before us lifts his head and stands, and all the fear that accompanied me before my meeting with Pittacus comes rushing back. I hurl a fallen tree limb near the pool at the man, but Pittacus extends a hand spews a short jet of flame before it can reach him. Only still glowing, red-hot cinders reach the man, drifting past him in the slight wind.

I prepare myself for another assault, but Pittacus holds up his hand, stopping me. I look at him in disbelief. The Stranger stands before me, the man from my dreams. The same one who has assaulted my mind for the past month, spinning a tale of shadows. My Legacy of precognition tried to warn me, showing him racing towards me here. And now Pittacus Lore, an Elder, has brought me to him. I've convinced myself that he is the enemy, that there could be nothing worse than him, no real "shadow" that haunts me. That his "warnings" were only to gain my trust so he could lead me away from my allies and kill me. I want to believe that he is my greatest threat, this monster of a man with long dark hair towering over me, but now I know it can't be true. Because his fire burns away the shadow.

In that sixth sense, I can see him. I see the fire, nearly blinding. It binds us together, tendrils reaching out to one another, and distantly to Setrakus Ra. This man is the Fourth. And if no shadow touches him, as opposed to Setrakus Ra, then he can be trusted. I look at him with new eyes, slowly adopting a more relaxed state. Yes, he has a presence of danger, but I get the sense that it only applies to his enemies. He's easily seven feet, just like in the dreams, and he's grown his hair out since I last saw him. But the hard, chiseled jaw and cold eyes remain, a silent warning that the next time I attack him he won't be content with just letting Pittacus keep me back.

Pittacus nods approvingly, "At last you come into the light."

The Stranger steps forward and extends a hand, "It's been a while, Number Four."

I shake it meekly, "You really were trying to warn me."

"Obviously."

"I've been watching you," Pittacus started, "to keep you safe. I brought him here. He flew here from Mogadore and landed in the forest. He's been making his way here ever since he landed, taking out any of your enemies he came across."

"I had to leave my ship behind when I entered Loric space, but I managed to smuggle myself onboard a shuttle from one of your space stations to the planet's surface. Unfortunately, I was found and ran into some…complications that resulted in a crash-landing. So I had to settle for warning you telepathically while making my way here on foot. And here I finally am."

"You have Legacies? You're Loric?" I asked.

"No. I'm Mogadorian. But as rightful heir to Setrakus Ra's throne, I gain a few special abilities. Once I kill him, they will be revealed to their full extent. They differ from king to king."

"You're his… son?" I ask, puzzled.

His eyes darkened, "No. Even if I had been, I doubt it would have stopped him from betraying me."

"What did he do?"

"He tried to kill me."

"Oh." I get the feeling there's more to this story, but I'm even more certain that if I push it he'll have no qualms squashing me into a pile of dust.

_"A wise decision."_ Pittacus intervened telepathically, while speaking aloud, "That's not why we're here. We're here for you. You could one day carry the hopes of all three races of the Triumvirate."

I fidget nervously, "What are we fighting exactly?"

Pittacus's expression darkened, "My brothers and sisters…they have fallen prey to a darkness, the same you see opposing the fire within us. They are corrupted, all save one. They have forgotten our purpose here, and seek power for their own ends, and the master they now serve. We were to pave the way for you and the rest of the Ten, but now they will refuse to give up their power. They will attempt to keep it from you, and keep it for him. The great Elders of Lorien," he said bitterly, "now mere puppets in the thrall of a dark god."

"The shadows."

"A visual representation of his evil, yes."

"I think I may have seen him," I say nervously, "On the plateau…"

"That was not him," the Stranger interrupted, "Merely his herald."

I frown as another thought comes rushing into my head, "The plateau, the light…what happened to it?"

"I moved it." Pittacus stated simply.

"But what is it? The light, it had some sort of power over me. Some attraction."

"That light is integral to Lorien," Pittacus replied, "A light that must never go out. But you will learn all in due time. We need to focus on the matter at hand."

"Getting you out of the city." The Stranger explained.

All of my reservations come flooding back. This is my home, my life. Six is here, my friends, my family. Surely no one could take the whole city. London has never been conquered since the dawn of our civilization. There are over a thousand Garde dwelling within these walls, not to mention the Sentinels or automated defenses. There's no reason to leave, to run. We can fight it, whatever this evil is. Some man, with a Legacy over shadows? Could he really withstand the entire city?

All of this rushes through my head, and I blurt it out, desperate to stay, "Can't we fight it? You're Pittacus Lore…and you're some eight ton Mogadorian rhino. If we get the city to stand beside us we could…"

The Stranger cuts me off, "It's not like that. Weren't you listening to Pittacus? It's a corruption, an inside threat, not someone you can stand and fight. Not yet anyway. The city is already in their hands, they just haven't revealed themselves yet. They're just biding their time."

I turn to Pittacus, "But this is _your_ city. Your seat. You're our leader. They'll listen to you. They have to!"

He stands there impassively, arms crossed, shaking his head. "There has to be something we can do!" I yell, frustrated.

"Run." The Stranger states matter-of-factly.

Pittacus steps forward slowly, "London is already lost, Four. It has been for a long time now. Most of Lorien is. I was too slow… too occupied with the threat outside our walls to notice the one eating away from our core."

The Stranger breaks in, "There are still some holdfasts in the North, and other remote areas. But the bulk of the population resides in the Elders' Cities, and the Elders are lost. There is no respite here on Lorien."

A horrible thought creeps into my head, "You don't mean…"

"Yes." The Stranger says, "You'll be safe with my people. Setrakus Ra might have control of the military and larger corporations, but the commoners resent him. I can keep you safe there."

"No." I say, hysteria rising into my voice, "I'm not leaving."

Pittacus puts a comforting arm on my shoulder and speaks strongly, but not unkindly, "I'm sorry, Four. But we have to keep you safe. You have to train, prepare yourself, so we can liberate our people."

"What about the other Ten?"

"They will remain here, with me. I will keep them safe, I promise."

The Stranger looks up sharply at this, "What? They were to come with us, and you as well. You can't possibly be considering…"

"My brothers suspect us," Pittacus broke in wearily, "This is the only sure way to get at least one of them to safety."

"You're going to leave me with him?" I blurt out, and instantly regret it. "Sorry, I just mean…I barely know him, and you're …you, I guess."

Pittacus smiles as the Stranger snorts, "I wouldn't worry if I were you, Four. He is a most formidable ally, and will keep you safe. And an old friend of yours."

"Who?" I ask him.

The Stranger shakes his head, "I'll take that as a compliment, Pittacus." He turns to me, "You really don't remember do you? I don't blame you, I've changed quite a bit. Here's a hint: I haven't been here in nine years."

I think back to the last Mogadorian here nine years ago, and it suddenly. I remember him now, though not the man in front of me, but the ten year-old kid who I saw from afar, and only met at sponsor meetings my grandparents brought me to.

"Adamus."

He takes a mock bow, "Adamus Sutekh, heir to Setrakus Ra, the Unworthy One, at your service."

I suspected, but I now stare in shock that he's confirmed it, "You left…"

"After my bastard of a father turned me and my sister over to Setrakus Ra when we were recognized as candidates."

A news article from long ago drifts into my head, "You're supposed to be dead."

"And you shoot lightning bolts from your palm." He counters.

I turn to Pittacus, "How did you…?"

He gives that sad smile once more, "Like I said, we've been watching you. A great Legacy as well, if I might add, though you wield it without finesse."

My face reddens slightly, "I didn't want to go to Brandon. I was trying to keep it secret in case anything happened."

"A wise decision. News would have traveled fast if you had, and the Elders surely would have acted."

I take a deep breath. The danger is real. Our own leaders, protectors, are against us. I'm hanging by a thread, Pittacus's revelation proves that. If I'd gone to Brandon I'd probably be dead now…I don't want to run. But I can't fight them. Not yet. Six's face flashes through my head, but I resign myself to my fate.

"How are we going to do this?"

Pittacus nods, approving of my decision. "Come with me. We'll start with a short lesson on your Legacies. Since I won't be able to train you after you leave, we'll fit in as much as we can. We'll talk while we work."

**UP NEXT:**

**What's Four's next move?**

**A/N: Hey all, sorry this took longer than I would have liked. Going back to school meant more homework, getting back with friends, etc. I had some drivers ed. I had to do too, and my grand aunt died, so that sucked. Flying down for the funeral took out a few days I was planning to work. But here it is now. Also, I know some people have wanted me to explain Four's legacy more, that's next chapter. Also, a lot of people have been asking about some plot points that have been purposefully left out, and all I can do is remind you that I can only do one chapter every couple weeks or so, unlike a book where you get all your answers in one sitting. So just please be patient. But hey, at least you get to see Adamus here, right?**


	15. Chapter 15

**(Disclaimer: I don't own the Lorien Legacies series or any of its characters.)**

**15**

Four

I walk slowly through the city streets, the morning lights from Lorien's suns just starting to creep up in the distance behind the Spires of Elkin. I love this time of the day, just before the city wakes up, as London slowly starts to come to life. Only a few early wakers are already up and about, and I nod politely to a Munis worker in his red shirt that's trimming the hedges along the street side. He tips his head to me in greeting, and rubs Hadley's head as we go by.

"Chimæra?" he asks.

"Yep," I answer, "He's been with me for years."

He smiles, "Beautiful creatures, those. I used to have one of 'em when I was about your age. Just a pup, but we spent a good many years together."

Hadley sniffs his hand, and then turns his head back up to me to complain, _"He smells bad."_

I stifle a laugh, trying to keep a straight face, as I reply in my head, _"Dude, seriously? He's a garbage man. Of course he's gonna smell bad. Why'd you even take a whiff in the first place?_

To me it seemed liked Hadley sniffed indignantly, _"You never know. Sometimes you get lucky and you Loric smell really nice."_

_"Well, not this one."_ I reply.

I thank the old man, and he calls out to me as we walk on, "Make sure you keep him close! Mighty fine friends, I promise you."

_Good advice_, I think to myself. _More than you know_.

Last night had been relentless, Pittacus and Adam explaining things over and over again until I could grasp them, while simultaneously beating my ass to the ground in combat training. They'd told me that I needed to escape the other Elders, and that to do that I'd need to leave the city. And above all, they stressed secrecy. I couldn't tell Six, my family, or even Brandon about any of it. That part still had me riled up. They wouldn't let me take Brandon with us, no matter how hard I pleaded. It took me the whole night to convince them to at least let me bring Hadley, and even then they told me off on how important it was I tell no one else. The part about Brandon still hurt though, even now.

"It's not fair of you to endanger him," Pittacus had said, "He has a family. A wife, a son."

"But he's my Cêpan!" I had protested, "He's supposed to put me before all of that! We can trust him, I promise you!"

Pittacus replied, "Of course we can. And we know that. He'd leave with you in a heartbeat. But eventually, at some point, he wouldn't be able to keep up with you. Somewhere done the line, you'd have to leave him behind. And he'd stay, give himself to protect you. He will die for you. And stay dead. Or you can leave him here now, and I promise you that he will remain safe under my protection."

"It's not that we don't trust him," Adamus reported, "It's just that if he were to know, someone else would figure out we're planning something. They wouldn't know what, but it might tip them off just enough that we won't be able to pull it off. Or they might be more direct, and torture him to find out. He wouldn't give anything up, but he'd go through a lot of pain and misery before he died. Is that what you want for him?"

"We understand that you want your Cêpan to help guide you through this trouble," Pittacus replied, "It's only natural. But it would be at his own peril. The safest thing to do is to tell no one. It's the only way to keep anyone safe.

"And that includes your pretty little girlfriend, "Adamus had said, glaring at me, "Meaning not telling anyone. Not your parents, not Brandon, and definitely not her, or any of the other Ten."

I sigh to myself now, and Hadley gives a small whine and rubs up at my side. I dangle down a hand to stroke his head as the Great Lorien Information Depository comes into view up ahead.

"We got this buddy," I say aloud, "We just have to follow their lead."

That's what I was doing now, why I'm coming here. In order to get to the space station up in orbit where Adamus' ship is, we'll have to hitch a ride from the airfield here in London. We obviously can't take any commercial tram or craft, seeing as the Elders would instantly swoop in on us they moment they suspected we were trying to book it. We have to get out of here all in one go, seemingly out of the blue, before they could stop us before we got too far. That meant our only other option was to commandeer (I couldn't bring myself to actually say steal) a Loric spacecraft to take us to his ship. And since Adam only knows how to pilot Mogadorian spacecraft, at least one of us has to learn how. And seeing how he can't get much training sitting out in the forest by a campfire, it comes down to me. And even still, by the time we "take" the craft, they'd be on alert for us up at the station. That meant that going through regular docking would practically be committing suicide. So here I was, assigned to figure out how we'd manage to get a space craft that could take us from point A to point B without being caught.

Since I had no idea how to break into the Loric airfield in the city, or even how to fly a spacecraft, I figured that going to the Great Lorien Information Depository might be a little beneficial to my plans. The library held copies of practically every bit of aspect of life and technology across Lorien, Earth, and Mogadore. It was bound to have something on piloting those hunks of metal. I walked up the pathway to the glass doors, flanked by the statues of the Ten Elders on both sides. I walked uncomfortably past a statue of Lupa, wondering just how many of them wanted to kill me.

Despite Pittacus and Adamus' explanations, I was still confused on the whole _why_ part of the story. Apparently, most of the Elders weren't too happy about the idea that they were supposed to give up their power to a bunch of kids. So, being the great, prophetic wise leaders that they are, they decided it'd just be easier to kill us all. Pittacus wasn't too keen on that whole idea, and realized something might be just bit off with his buddies. So he did some digging and found out that the shadowy guy I met on the plateau had been meeting with rest of the Elders, corrupting them somehow. So Pittacus, believing there was still some good in his friends, confronted them about it. And promptly got his ass kicked halfway across the planet. The others assumed he was dead, and he used the time underground to come up with some mega-plan to take back Lorien, which he still hasn't told me all about. He even went to Mogadore at some point, and saved Adamus from whatever trouble he was in. At least that's the summary Adam told me when he claimed I was too dumb to get the whole picture, something Six probably would have agreed with.

The best I could gather, was that the shadowy guy I had met earlier held some serious influence on Mogadore. He'd supposedly been in their legends for a long time, and Adamus claims that he actually came to the planet, and started influencing their leaders to turn it into the overcrowded dump it is today. I'm still finding it hard to believe I get to spend the next couple years of my life there. It's totally gonna suck. Complete pollution, overcrowded cities, and the only animals left are all pit trained bloodthirsty killers. I'd rather stick with the Chimæra, or maybe some bunny rabbit from Earth. According to Adamus, Mogadore has been keeping its declining state from the rest of the Triumvirate, making sure to only show its Seven Cities of Setrakus whenever some off-world reporter comes.

Even more disturbing to me, is the fact that Pittacus claims this all happened thirteen years ago. That means that all the times that "Pittacus" showed up for speeches or during Quartermoon that someone was impersonating him. Lorien really has been under a puppet government for the past ten years. Adamus assures me that the Elders are almost ready to take complete, public control over the planet any week now, and Pittacus agrees. So here I am, trying to find a way to book a ticket on a bus going from paradise-about-to-turn-to-hell to already-been-hell-for-a-couple-of-years.

I open the doors and then scan my ID band at the terminal, and head straight to the section on piloting and spacecraft. The librarian frowns when she sees Hadley, but calms down once I convince her he's a Chimæra. I sync a couple articles to my info-mod and then move towards the lounge area. To my surprise I recognize Sam Goode at one of the tables with a good actual twenty books piled up around him and who knows how many more synced to his info-mod. It's so early in the morning, but I suppose I shouldn't be too shocked. He did seem like the kind of kid who'd spend his time here when I first met him. I pause, deciding for a second, then start towards him.

Hadley rushes ahead of me, and shakes Sam out of his book when he licks his fingers. Sam jumps up out of his seat and looks up confusedly, but his eyes widen he sees me.

"Hey," I say a bit awkwardly. He seemed cool enough before, but I've only ever really talked to him once.

"H-Hey." He stutters, "What's up?"

I sit down at his table and lay my info-mod down, "Just checking out a few things. Spacecraft and stuff. What about you?"

He gets a bit red, "Just looking up the Krakorians. The Triumvirate thinks they might be ready for first contact. They're supposed to vote on it in a couple months or so. Did you know that their homeworld is only twice the distance from here to Mogadore away? God, I wish we could go there. I'd love to pilot an exploration cruiser."

I frowned. I'd heard of the Krakorians of course. They were supposed to be a pretty under-developed race, not yet ready to discover that they weren't alone in the universe. But something else he said had caught my attention.

"Wait, you can actually fly a spacecraft?"

"Oh yeah," he replied, "For like, forever. It's awesome. Way better than a bike. But could you imagine if we could actually go there? It'd be amazing! Just think of the things we could learn. Did you know that some observations have indicated that they may have a top tier caste system occupied by a sub-denomination of their species that may resemble the Garde? If we could confirm the hypothesis, we might finally gain insight into the parallel linear evolution parabola through the cosmos and-"

I held up a hand, "Too many big words. But you can actually fly a spaceship?"

His face got red again, "Yeah."

I smile, "That's all I needed to hear."

He smiles cautiously along with me, "Why?"

I look across the room to make sure no one's nearby and then whisper, "Could you, uh, give me and a buddy a lift to the space station? Unofficially? I'd really appreciate it. And, I mean like, you dad's the human ambassador. You guys have to have a craft registered under your family, right?"

"Well, yeah," he answered, "but I'd have to sync up my ID band with my dad's genetics to get access to it. Which shouldn't be too hard to get a hold of, seeing as we live together. But I'd still have to find some dummy genetics that have access to the airstrip that could sync up with you and your friend's ID bands. Assuming I'm actually considering this."

"Ah, come on. Look at you. You totally know what you're talking about. There's no way we couldn't pull this off. Don't you want to just take a little risk, have a little adventure?"

He still looks dubious, so I add on, "I mean like, come on. I'm one of the Ten. I can vouch for you if we get caught-which we won't. None of us will get in trouble."

That's a complete lie. If we do manage to pull this off, Adam and I will be dumping him off at the space station and hightailing it out of there as fast as we can without him. He'll probably be charged criminally. And if we do get caught, there's no way I could talk us out of it. He'd be killed by the Elders, along with me and Adam. But he doesn't need to know that. I feel terrible, obviously preying on the guy's hopes, but it's the only way I can think of pulling this off.

He shrugs and smiles nervously, "Well…I guess if you put it like that…"

I smile and bump my fist against his across the table, "That's my boy!"

Hadley pads over to him again, and Sam bends down to rub his head.

"Hadley will be coming too," I say, and Sam just nods. He looks breezed and kinda in shock, like he can't believe he's actually doing this.

"Yeah. Sure. The more the merrier."

I clap him on the shoulder and stand up, "I promise, it will all be fine. You won't regret it. I'll call you later ok? I gotta go meet up with Six."

He spins around, "Wait! Let me put in my number!"

He proceeds to do so, and then hands me back the info-mod and looks up at me timidly, "Is, uh, Six coming too?"

I frown on the inside, remembering his earlier comment on how he "knew her" but I manage to keep calm on the outside.

"Maybe. We'll see, I'll have to ask her." Another lie.

He nods, "Yeah…okay, cool. I'll talk to you later."

I nod back, "Definitely. And one more thing."

"Yeah?"

"Sam Goode, you rock."

He smiles, and sinks back down into his chair as I walk out. He must feel ecstatic, but all I feel is terrible guilt at deceiving him. One way or another, no matter the outcome, I pretty much just ruined the guy's life. And now it's time to tell Pittacus, and make my goodbyes, ones I can't even really do. All I can do is spend time with them, and the next day it will seem to them that I've just left them all behind for Lorien-knows-what. It's time to leave Lorien. To leave my home. Time to leave Six. To lie to my friends. Cursing myself in my head, I pass by the statues of the Elders again. I can't help but wonder if this is the first step on a path leading me to become as evil as them.

**UP NEXT:**

**Unbeknownst to the rest of the Ten, it's only a matter of days before Four leaves Lorien!**

**Four spends what little time he has left with Six-but is this goodbye?**

**A/N: Hey all, sorry this took forever. Life has been crazy, and I have no idea when I'll be able to update again. Reading ****_Last Days of Lorien_**** was a Godsend, seeing as it inspired me to go at this again, and gave me tons of canon material for use on Lorien. As soon as I was done with it, I went back and took a whole bunch of notes on Lorien, so expect to see some of the same places and aspects popping up. It also gave me some new story threads I'd like to pursue later on in this book, like the whole thing on Daxin. Anyways, if you haven't read that yet, go do it now. Also, thanks to the tons of support and reviews while I was away, I'm really sorry it took so long here. When I came back on today I had like 20, 30 reviews/PM's. To answer a few questions that got sent to me:**

** a.-No, Four won't be the only narrator in the second book.**

**b.-Yes,  
there are plans for more books, if I ever manage to finish this one. I have an outline, I know where I want to go, and how to end the 1****st**** one, but I'm still coming up with the endgame.**

**c.-Yes, Sam and Sarah will be more involved in the next book. Sam is a minor character in this one, but I still have a few more scenes to write on him, and I'll be featuring Sarah in chapter 17. As to if she'll remain a love interest, you'll have to see.**

**d.-A lot of people have been asking about the shadow guy, and how 4's legacy works, and all I can say is that you'll have to be patient and wait for them to be explained in the story.**

**e.-No, I haven't considered writing together with someone on this. I'd like to keep this main story mine own, but I'm open to at least thinking about it if someone wants to do a tie-in. I may even offer up a couple chapters in the ****_Fallen Legacies_**** tie-in, which I'm REALLY behind on. But no, it's not up for adoption.**

**So that's it. I have no idea when the next update will be, and I'll really try to get it out soon, but I can't be sure if it will be anytime soon or not. Thanks for all your support, and I love the questions that keep on flying into my PM box. Here's to you.**

** -Back2backAgain**


	16. Chapter 16

**(Disclaimer: I don't own the Lorien Legacies series or any of its characters.)**

**16**

Four

I first swing by Arcadia, where I'm supposed to meet up with Nine and the rest of the guys. I'm already late, and I could use my Legacy to get there now, but I want to enjoy the morning. I want to savor and soak up everything I can about Lorien in the next few days before I leave, and I'm sure as hell not going to waste my time rushing through everything. I pass by several more Munis workers, and a group of small children, who run up to Hadley, giggling as they try to climb on top of him. I let them play for a few moments, then move on. Only ten minutes later, I spot Nine and the others at the street corner.

"You're late." Three said, raising his eyebrows.

"Sorry," I smile sheepishly, "Just got caught up with stuff."

"Typical." Nine grunts as he bends down to talk to Hadley, his long black hair swinging into his face.

"What's up, Hadley? You're looking a bit heavy around the edges, pal." He joked.

Hadley stared up at him, _"I will bite you."_

Nine stood up and laughs, then shakes his head, "I swear, Hadley is the Chimæra with the most attitude on this planet. I'd never let anyone else talk to me like that, except maybe Byscoe."

"What he'd say?" Eight asked, and I smiled mischievously.

"He called Nine fat." I say, as Eight and Three start smiling.

"It was the other way around!" Nine insisted, "I swear!"

"Sure, Nine," Hannu says dryly, "we all believe that."

Nine turns to me with an indignant look on his face, but I just cock my head and smile, pleased with my work. Beside me, Hadley thumps his tail against the ground in satisfaction. Nine throws his hands up in the air in disgust, and does a half-turn before spinning back around with a devilish smile.

"If you want something to laugh about Four, then listen to this."

"Oh no you don't." Hannu started and Eight turned a bright shade of red and said, "Come on, man."

"Oh yes." Nine grinned wickedly, obviously pleased at moving the attention off himself, ignoring Hadley's dirty look. Despite myself, I'm interested.

"You're obviously all making a big deal about it, whatever it is," I say, "Spill."

Nine grinned even wider, "Eight asked Seven out on a date!" he chanted in a sing-song voice.

Three shook his head at Nine's immaturity while Eight groaned aloud, but I turned to him incredulously.

"Seriously?" I ask, "You did it?"

"Yeah," he smiled, looking pleased with himself.

"And she said yes?"

"If she hadn't he'd be huddled in a corner crying somewhere," Nine broke in. Eight glared at him, which Nine just rolled his eyes at, but nodded in confirmation.

I smiled broadly and reached over to pound him on the back, "Atta boy!"

"Now you guys can go on double dates!" Nine exclaimed. When Eight and I glared at him in unison, he just spread his hands in mock innocence with fake big eyes, "What?"

I shake my head, and then turn back to Eight, "Seriously, dude, nice going. When is it?"

"Next Thursday," he says, still looking a bit self-satisfied.

Nine pops out again, "Seriously, if you guys are double dating, bring me along. I'll let you pay for my food and everything. I'll bring Three as my date."

Three tries to punch Nine in the arm, but he leans back and garbs his hand, then stands up and wags his finger at Hannu. I just sigh in exasperation, and start moving towards our favorite morning haunt, The Fat Chimæra, an awesome hole-in-the-wall café in the outskirts of Arcadia, with Eight close behind. We leave Nine and Three arguing behind us, but they catch up soon enough. Apart from that opening episode, the rest of the walk is largely uneventful, and Nine only has two close brushes with death. Eight nearly strangles him when Nine asks if he and Marina will name their kid Fifteen, and once when he says that the ginormous Chimæra on the café door really does look like Hadley. Ten minutes after that incident, Nine and Hadley join us at our table, Nine with a large smile on his face and minus one half of his pants' leg.

Our regular waitress comes up to us, a middle-aged Cêpan with crazy hair and tattoos named Teev, an old friend of Nine's Cêpan, Sandor. I just order a hot chocolate and Three takes an orange juice, while Nine and Eight go for something a bit more adventurous.

"Six orders of the usual, Teev," Nine rings out as he plants his feet up on the table, "Three for me and three for Eight. We're gonna have an eat-off. First to finish it all wins.

Teev rolls her eyes as she shoves Nine's feet off the table, and looks at him dubiously, "Are you going to barf it all up on my table?"

"Probably," I admitted, while Nine waved me off with his hand.

"Come on, sweetheart. Have I ever failed you?"

"More times than I can count," she mumbles as she walks away, leaving Nine behind with an indignant look on his face and the three of us laughing so loud that some of the other customers turn around in their seats to find the commotion.

Three sat chuckling and wiping his eyes with back of his hand, "Oh, I love that woman."

Nine got a cocky grin going again and slid up next to Three, throwing an arm around his shoulder, "Funny you mention that, buddy. You're the next one to be set up."

"What about you, Nine?" Eight calls out mockingly, "Got enough rejections yet?"

Nine looks over at him with a slick smile, "Don't be ridiculous. The ladies love me," he cackles as he points a finger at me, "Behold Exhibit A."

I snort while Three mutters, "Great Lorien, we're cooing over crushes like girls. Can't we talk about something a bit more manly?"

Eight leaned back and slammed his hand down on the table, "Sports."

Nine did the same, "Nope," he said loudly, and then pointed at Teev approaching with a stack of plates, "Food."

She slid three portions each to Nine and Eight, and handed me my hot chocolate, "Good luck, boys."

Nine licked his lips hungrily and then looked up at Three, "Eight, you know the rules: first to finish wins. Hannu, you're judge. Sorry, Four, but I just can't trust you with something as important as this."

I roll my eyes as Nine starts the countdown, and then the two erupt into a frenzy of eating.

"They're going to kill themselves." I remark dryly to Three, who nodded in agreement.

"No two ways about it," he replied, "We should start funeral arrangements."

By this time Nine has already finished a whole plate piled high with pancakes, eggs, sausage, and bacon, and is reaching for a second loaded with waffles, oatmeal, toast and more bacon. Eight finishes off his first round and steals a look over at Nine before grabbing his own second plate. By this point Nine has already crammed three pieces of toast into his mouth, and has forgone his spoon in favor of scooping up drippy globs of oatmeal with his hand into his gaping maw.

"Sooo good," He moaned.

I look on with awe, quietly sipping my hot chocolate (which is piping hot, but easily drinkable thanks to my Lumen) and whisper to Three, "This actually really impressive, just not in the good kind of way."

He nods as Nine reaches for his third plate and Eight struggles to mop up the last bit of a runny egg with a piece of bacon, "An incredible display of pigging out."

Two minutes later it's over, with Nine burping up a storm and Eight glumly finishing his last piece of sausage.

"I almost had you." He said

"Not even close." Nine replied.

I shake my head in disbelief as Teev comes up with the check, flip it open, and let out a long, low whistle when I see the price.

"That bad?" Eight grimaces, while I nod.

I slide it across the table towards Nine and then stand up. Hadley gets to his feet from where he'd been dozing under the table earlier, "Sorry guys, but I got to go."

Nine snorted, "Right when we need your wallet."

But Eight waved a hand in my direction, "Go. Say hi to Six for us."

"Will do." I nodded as I headed out the door.

I caught one last shout from Nine before I left, "See you later, bro!"

"_That's right,"_ I thought to myself, _"You will see me later. Much later."_ Even though they didn't know it, this was probably goodbye. I was headed to the air field with Sam tomorrow, and then the day after that I'd make my final escape when I met up with Adamus by the forest. For all I knew, it could be years before I saw Nine, or any of the others ever again. The thought tightened up my throat a little bit, but I swallowed it and started walking towards Eilion Park where I was meeting Six.

I want to make the most of my time with Six, so I crank up my Legacy to bolt to Eilion Park. Ever since my lesson in the forest with Pittacus my Legacies have seemed more fluid, and now I actually have an inkling of how to control my lightning Legacy. There's so much more to it than I had previously thought: I could use its energy in bolts, storms, practically anything I could think of. Pittacus said I might even be able to heal myself with it, once I get enough control over it. But right now, it's my speed I need, and with it I'm at the plaza in a matter of seconds.

Eilion Park is ringed by a number of shops and restaurants, with an inner ring of grass and trees surrounding a plaza with statues of the Elders and fountains. I spot Six leaning against a tree, looking for me in the opposite direction. I stand still and watch her for a minute, acutely aware of how little time left I have with her. She's only wearing jeans and a soft blue sweater, but she really is beautiful, with simple yet elegant dark wavy hair and soft olive skin. I can picture her deep hazel eyes scanning the crowd for me, and I feel that familiar pang in my chest. We'd been the closest friends for years, and somewhere along the way it turned into something else. I'd practically loved her since I was 12, and loved her like a sister for the ten years before then. She's so confident and strong, a solid rock. I don't know what she sees in me, but I've been the luckiest guy on Lorien for the past couple weeks. Apart from the whole Elders trying to kill me thing and the fact that I have to abandon her of course. It's not fair that now, once we've finally acted on our feelings, that I have to leave her behind.

I take a deep breath and then jog up to her with my Legacy. I kiss her on the cheek faster then she can see, and dart around to her other side with my Legacy as she turns towards where I was standing a split-second before. She freezes for a second when she sees nothing there, but then she laughs and spins around to punch me in the arm.

"Very funny, Four." She says with a wry smile.

"I thought so." I reply, then lean in quickly to peck her on the lips.

She looks surprised for a second as I lean up against the tree beside her, "What?" I ask, "We've been together for like a month. I got tired of waiting." I smile smugly.

She shakes her head, making her midnight hair swing softly down past her shoulders, "_I've_ been waiting for that for the past month, idiot. Guys are supposed to take the initiative."

"Oh, come on. That's not fair! Girls are the sappy romantics. How are guys supposed to know when to step up? Besides," I say, leaning back and waggling my fingers at her, "You're scary. If I make a wrong move you'll go all ninja queen and bite my head off!"

She laughs and punches me again, though this time she slides down her arm to rest on my elbow, "Don't you forget it. I could kick your ass from here to Mogadore and halfway back."

"Believe me, I know. It keeps me up at night."

She laughs again and slides her arm down to take my hand. We spend the next couple hours walking around the park, talking about anything that comes to mind, and using our telekinesis to play fetch with Hadley. Other people come and go, even another little Garde with his grandparents, but we stay the whole time. It's a Friday, so most of the other kids our age are stuck in school, but we always get an extra day off. One of the perks of being one of the Ten, I suppose. Eventually, we borrow a blanket and lay it out beneath a shaded tree by a fountain. We lean back against the soft wood, and I put my arm around Six as she leans into my shoulder. We talk a bit more, and then use my info-mod to take a ton of pictures together. Some are sweet, and some have Six sticking her tongue out at the camera while I make a funny face in the background. Afterwards, we spend another good two hours just sitting there, until Six brings up the Games again.

"Hmmm?" I ask, lifting my eyes up from watching two small children play a game of soccer on the grass.

"I said," she repeated, "When do you think our next Games match is?"

"I dunno," I say. I keep on being distracted by smelling her hair. I can't decide if it smells like lavender or something else, "In like two months I think. They still have to root through all the other people in the first wave.

She repositions herself against my arm, "More time to train, I guess."

I nod sadly. It's not unusual for a single Games tournament to last a whole year. It's more like following a TV show for a whole season. One I'll probably finish in Mogadore. If this thing works, I'll never be able to partner with Six. Same if I get caught by the Elders and thrown in a jail cell. Either way, Six will be left scrambling to find a partner to avoid being disqualified. It'll crush her hopes. But more importantly, I won't be there with her. I sigh aloud.

She looks up at me with big, worried eyes, the brilliant color of the wood behind us, "What's wrong?"

I smile down at her, "Sorry, just tired. I had to wake up really early in the morning to go to the GLID before meeting the guys."

She smiles up at me sarcastically, "Ahhh, you poor baby."

"I know!" I protested, "I had to walk the whole way there!"

She pokes me, "Great Lorien forbid! That must have been aaawwwful."

I reach up a hand to swipe my hair as a leaf falls down on me from above where Hadley is rummaging around the treetop as a bird, "It really was," I pause, "Hey do you know a Sam Goode?"

"Goode," she murmurs, pouting out her lip as she's thinking. It's so adorable I have to restrain myself from kissing her again, "The ambassador's son?"

"Yep," I say, drawing the word out.

"What about him?" she asks as she snuggles up closer to me.

"He likes you."

She looks up at me incredulously, "What? I've never even talked to him!"

I shrug, "Tell that to him."

She looks up at me playfully, "Well, what I'll tell him, is that I'm already interested in someone else."

"Oh really?" I smile, "What's this guy like?

"Hmmm…he's cute, handsome, funny, kind, smart, and considerate."

"Dashing good looks?" I ask playfully.

She smiles even wider, "Oh yeah."

I lean my head a little closer to hers, "Well, then what I'd tell this guy is that he is really, really, really, _really_ lucky to have you."

With each "really", I lean my head down even closer, until our lips finally connect. It's a real kiss this time, not some quick peck on the lips or cheek. Our first. My first thought is that she tastes like strawberries, and the second is how amazing this is. Then I'm overcome by how perfect it all is, and the sudden realization that in a couple of days, I'm going to be leaving it all behind. My chest tightens, and I lose myself in her. I don't know when we finally break apart, but we smile at each other, and then I hold her in my arms until the suns' last light disappears over Lorien's horizon.

**UP NEXT:**

**Four and Sam prepare for their departure, but the only thing standing in their way is…Sarah Hart?!**

**A/N: Hey all, this managed to get up way faster than ch 15. I'm trying to use this newfound motivation while it lasts. Of course, posting a review always helps my update speed. I really do love it when you guys PM me or post a review about what you enjoyed/are looking forward to in the story, especially when one of you catch a crossover with the real books, like the Lecture Hall. So be sure to click that button :) Anyways, only about five more chapters until the first book draws to a close. After that, I'll take a break from writing until I have enough chapters from the 2****nd**** book written that I can have a semi-consistent release schedule for a while. Just as an incentive to review these upcoming last few chapters, if you post a review on something you liked/are looking forward to/want to see/pretty much anything besides just "update" on at least 3 of the 5 chapters left, I'll PM you the first chapter of book 2 a couple weeks before everyone else. And that starts now, so you can get started with at least one of the three right now with this chapter. Thanks for your support as always, and lets hope I can keep this release pace up close to the end here. Thanks to everyone who actually reads this.**


	17. Chapter 17

**(Disclaimer: I don't own the Lorien Legacies series or any of its characters.)**

**17**

Four

The following day I'm out of bed early, say a quick goodbye to my grandparents, and then head out to the airfield to scope it out with Sam. It's a Saturday, which means I'm not expected at the Lecture Hall with any of the others. I'm still wild from yesterday with Six, so I decide to jog to burn off some excess energy. Despite it all though, I'm still incredibly nervous. If everything checks out today, I'll be leaving tomorrow night. Adamus told me to meet him at the forest's edge every Sunday until I was ready, but warned me that if I took too long he'd just make us go regardless. He'll be pleased I've already figure it all out by the first meeting.

It's not long, even without my Legacy, until I meet up with Sam a block away from the airstrip. I'm relieved to see he's dressed in regular clothes; last night he texted me asking if he should wear all black like we were robbing a bank or something. I figured it wouldn't do him much good in the bright of the day, so I told him to hold off. He looks nervous, so I give him a reassuring smile.

"You ready to go?"

He swallows and bobs his head, "Yeah. Can't believe I'm actually doing this, but yeah."

I start walking towards the airfield and he falls in beside me, "Come on, this is easy. We just get the right DNA synced to our identity bands today and then you sneak aboard your ship tomorrow night. We'll meet you there, and the next day all you'll be able to remember is how much fun you had."

He gives me a wan smile, "Or I'll be up all night trying to deal with a hangover."

I smile back, "Those only happen the morning after, buddy."

I recall one time when Brandon and I were out at a cabin for the weekend, doing Garde- Cêpan bonding stuff. Late that night, we made a bet that if I could shatter a stone he threw into the air with my telekinesis before it hit the ground, he'd actually let me grab something from the cooler that night, our secret. He threw it pretty far, almost out of my range, but I managed to get it just in time. I wish I could remember what actually happened after I had the second drink, but I'm sure Brandon and I had a pretty wild time that night, judging by the state of the cabin when we woke up and the cow sleeping in my bed. I spent the rest of the morning completely hung-over, with Brandon at my side the whole time.

I still can't believe I'm going to have to leave him behind. I don't know what I'll do without him: he's always been my guide. But it's not fair to him or his family, and I can only hope that he'll forgive me for leaving him behind someday. Knowing him, he'll probably be tearing himself up while I'm gone, thinking it was somehow his fault for not being there for me. I wish there was some way I could tell him that he always was without tipping him off, but I'm just going to have to trust that Six and the others will comfort him. At least Pittacus promised to watch over him while I'm gone.

We walk around the complex for a couple hours until noon, just checking everything out. The port itself is massive, easily the biggest structure on Lorien I've seen apart from the Spires of Elkin. We grab a quick bite to eat, and then I go over the plan one last time with Sam.

Finally, at about 4 o'clock, we walk until the gate up ahead comes into view. I pull the hood of my sweatshirt up to drape my face and turn to Sam.

"Just keep calm, OK? If we look normal no one will pay us any attention."

"Why don't we just go in there and walk into the hangar. They'll let us in once we tell them who we are."

I grimace under my hood, "It's better if they never knew I was here. If they figure it out that someone took the ship unauthorized and re-watch security feeds to see us showing up together out of nowhere on the same day, it won't be too hard to guess who took it. If they see just you they'll think you're only checking out the ships or something." And if the Elders even saw me within a mile of the airfield they'd think I was bolting and come grab me before I had the chance to run. We can't mess this up.

Sam looks at me appraisingly, "You really thought about this."

I nod, "You could say I have a certain incentive to see this through."

Sam and I soon come to a fenced-off entrance, with a bored-looking Cêpan guard waiting at a gate. He recognizes Sam on the spot as the human ambassador's son, but pays his sulky friend in the hoodie no mind. Soon enough we're walking down the road to the busy flight terminal, speedcraft picking up and dropping off hundreds of passengers. I spot several security cameras and guards positioned all around the terminal, and realize that this might be a bit more difficult than I had previously thought. One burly guard in particular is looking at us with narrowed eyes. Sam is nervous beside me, and looking pretty suspicious with his hands in his pockets as he tries to duck down his head. It goes against every bit of advice One ever gave me on shoplifting when she went through her "bad girl" phase, and it makes us totally stand it out.

The burly guard pauses for a moment to make up his mind, then starts to push through the crowd towards us.

"Oh shit," Sam whispers to me, panicking.

I grimace and grab his arm, then start pushing my way through the crowd, towing him behind me. It only makes us look more obvious, but I_ can't_ be pulled over and recognized. I twist my head around to find the guard starting to increase his pace, pushing his way towards us. My eyes dart to a particularly fat man with an ice cream cone in his way, and I shove him with my telekinesis. He lands across the guard's feet, downing them both. The man's ice cream splats on the guard's suit, and he curses as they both struggle to their feet. The fat man apologizes, distracting him just long enough to allow me to shove Sam down a staircase and out of his sight.

We emerge into a lower terminal lit up with blinking lights and billboards, hundreds of advertisements flashing by as we weave through hundreds more people. Several people give us dirty looks before I finally shove us through to a tram, the doors just closing as we enter the car. Sam collapses against a seat, his face pale, as the tram starts to move towards the human wing of the airport. I grab a handrail as Sam looks at me, panting.

"That was close. Why didn't we just explain ourselves?"

"I'm not supposed to be here, remember?" I tell him patiently.

"Does it really matter _that_ much?"

"Yeah." I say quietly.

The tram hums as we speed by hundreds of people streaming to flights around the airport. Despite this being the largest air/spaceport on Lorien, after only two minutes we've arrived at the wing where the human craft are stationed. I place my hand on Sam's shoulder, and then push us out into the mass of people as soon as the doors open. We make our way to the side of the hallway near a magazine kiosk and I turn to Sam.

"Where can we get to your dad's ship?"

He points up the hall, "It's kept in the official embassy wing. My DNA will let me access it, and you get some DNA from the guards for you and your friend.

I hold up and place my hand on his arm, "Wait, did you say guards?"

"Yeah."

I throw my hands up in frustration, "What part about _I don't want to be seen_ did you not understand?"

He starts up at me coldly, "You only told me about that part today. This is the plan. If you want the DNA, you'll have to get it from the guards."

I take a deep breath and then nod slowly, "Alright. Let's go. Lead the way."

I follow Sam through several hallways and crowds as he eventually takes me to a silver door embedded in the wall. There's a small terminal for scanning identity bands, and he swipes his quickly. The small red light turns green, and the door opens. We slip inside to a bare hall, with several doors and windows branching off to side rooms. We go down quite a ways, our footsteps ringing softly on the polished floor, before Sam stops outside a heavy wood door.

"This is where we'll need to authorize the flight," he whispers to me, "If you can get rid of the guard in there, I can plant a pre-recorded reservation for my dad's ship tomorrow night. It'll only be embedded in this office, so no one will find unless they actually look for it here."

"So I just have to get rid of the guard and then you can get us the DNA and reservation?" I ask.

"Pretty much."

"And there's only ever one guard on duty in here?"

He nods, and I motion for him to get out of the way. He crouches against the floor, and I plant my back to the wall beside the door. I take a deep breath, and then knock on the door quickly three times. I hear a chair being pushed back, and then it opens to reveal a middle aged man sticking his head out into the hall with a puzzled look on his face. He places his hand against the door frame, and I use my Legacy to quickly jump up and grab it before he can register my face. I take a deep breath, and then use my lightning Legacy to shock him with a high voltage. He stiffens and his hair stands on end, and then he slowly sinks to the floor, unconscious. Sam stares at me as I usher him into the room.

"What did you do to him?"

"Nothing he won't wake up from in an hour or two." I reply as I sit him down in a chair beside a row of computers. He opens some kind of program and starts searching through the guards' database, while simultaneously placing an order for his dad's ship tomorrow.

"What do you need me to do?" I ask.

He gestures to my arm distractedly as he runs through another set of commands on the computer, "Just leave your ID band here so I can sync up the DNA. This might take a few minutes."

I slip off the band and place it on the desk next to him, then nod and move towards the door, "I'm going to look around for a bit."

"Be careful!" he calls out to me as I gingerly step over the man and back into the hallway.

There's a sealed door at the very end that I'm guessing leads to the actual plane hangar; I won't be able to go through there until Sam finishes syncing the ID bands. But I'm free to explore the other rooms, and I make the most of the chance. The first two are just storages and the third a lunchroom, but when I step into the fourth I'm greeted by an enormous panel of monitors and computers filled to the brim with surveillance feed. I let out a low whistle and slowly sink into one of the chairs.

I see footage of everyone moving through the airport, even the guards. I'm a bit disgruntled to discover that they actually do have cameras in the bathrooms, and decide that's a serious infringement on privacy. But while the port cameras are interesting, the really good stuff is the long range scanners covering Lorien's space sector. One monitor shows footage of the space station near Lorien's moon, while another really cool one shows Lorien's projected path around the suns. There's so much going on in the room that I don't know where to start, but a small flashing light catches my attention.

Curious, I check it out, and discover that there's something wrong with the long-range probes. According to the computer, the Triumvirate moved its embassy fleets away from the space station and into the dark of the moon on the far side of Lorien's orbit. I frown, and fumble for a few minutes until I manage to figure out how to check the other readings. I'm surprised to discover that several other probes say that the fleet is still stationed near the moon. Either the one probe is wrong, or all the others are. I bite my lip for a second, and then spend another five minutes before I figure out how to maneuver the probe closer to the phantom fleet on the other side of orbit. The computer tells me it will take six minutes to get there, and I'm just leaning back in my seat when I notice a bigger problem.

There are four guards, and a teenaged girl standing outside at the door to the hallway. They don't look like they know anything's up, but the minute they step inside the hallway and see the other guy's body sprawled out across the floor they'll know something's up. Cursing, I get up to move back to Sam, but dart back down behind the door when I hear the door outside opening as they step inside.

A loud voice is deep in conversation with someone else, and I hold my breath as it continues talking, "Are you sure you don't want to stay for just a few more days?"

A fainter voice responds, I assume the girl, breezily, "I'll already told you, Samil, I-what's wrong with-"

The man, Samil, hushes her by placing an arm over her mouth, "Shhh. Someone's here. I can hear them."

The other three guards click off the safeties on their weapons and slowly move past me. I hold my breath and pray that Sam has had the sense to hide. I watch through the crack as one of them enters into my view, and slowly moves down the hall, sweeping each doorway with his weapon. Then the last guard comes into view, a strong burly man with olive skin and long dark hair similar to Nine's. He doesn't have a weapon, and I'm almost certain that he's a Garde. He pauses and frowns at my ajar door, and I stand silently, praying he doesn't see me through the crack. If he even tries to hit it against the wall he'll know I'm hiding behind it. He narrows his eyes, and then turns back to move on.

I'm just letting out a low breath as he spins back around wickedly quick, launching a telekinetic blast at the door. I dive further in the security room, and it's only through my Legacy that I manage to get out in time. The door splinters, and shards of wood split apart in the room, several flying towards me. I deflect them with my telekinesis and jump through the security window to dodge another telekinetic blast the Garde sends my way. My hoodie falls back, and I yank it back down with one hand and use the other to send one of the guards in the back flying with a telekinetic blast of my own. The other two hesitate, and I realize that they don't want to open fire because the teenage girl I saw on the camera earlier must be behind me. I, however, have no such complications and send them to join their buddy in a deep sleep as I send two more blast their way.

I'm just turning to deal with the last guy, Samil, when he slams me against the wall with telekinesis. I gasp for breath, winded, as he jumps forward towards me. I gasp and throw out a hand to pulse another telekinetic blast, shattering several screens of the monitors behind him, but he dodges. He responds with a gout of flame shooting from his left palm towards my face. The fire swirls around me in a vortex, cutting me off from the rest of the room and imprisoning me against the wall. I sink to my knees, blinded, but my Lumen protects me from actual harm. But he doesn't know that, so I feign pain as he pours on the heat.

"Who are you?" he roars at me, as I sink to the floor, still blind.

My vision obscured by yellow and orange flames, I reply, "No one."

Then I deliver a massive telekinetic sucker punch to where his voice was earlier, and the flames stop. I gasp, and shakily stand up, surveying the hallway now littered with four more unconscious bodies. Not exactly the low profile I was trying to keep. I can only hope that my hood protected enough of my face that they didn't recognize me or they forget everything they saw because of some concussion. Although the one guy did ask me who I was, so that's an encouraging sign.

I hear a scuffle behind me and spin around to see the girl is trying to open the door to the rest of the terminal. I quickly yank her back with my telekinesis and she comes sliding across the floor. She lands a little bit away from my feet, and I pause for a moment to look at her. She's about my age, pretty with long blond hair that falls over her shoulders and soft blue eyes. But those eyes are staring at me defiantly, with only a shred of fear visible as she looks me down, to her credit. Sam pokes his head out from the other room and gives a low whistle.

"Damn. Low profile, huh?"

The girl below me gasps, "Sam?"

He blinks, "Sarah? What are you doing down there?"

She looks at me warily and slowly starts to stand up, though backing well away from me. I'm fine with that, since she's edging towards Sam and away from the door outside, "Your friend here really knows how to sweep a girl of her feet."

"That's sarcasm, isn't it?" Sam asks.

"Hold up here," I interject, "You two know each other?"

"Yeah," Sam says, running out between us, "Don't worry, she's totally cool. This is Sarah Hart."

"The scientist's daughter?" I ask gruffly.

"Yeah," Sam responds, "Sarah, this is-"

I hold up a hand to cut him off, "No one. Not supposed to be here, remember?"

Sarah snorts, "Yeah, you're both doing a great job on that. What are you even doing here?"

"It doesn't matter," I say before Sam can respond, "Let's go, Sam."

Sarah gives a small hysterical laugh, "What? We just walk in her, you take out four guards, scare me half to death, and you're not going to even give me an explanation?"

"Nope," I reply, "You're lucky I'm not knocking you out."

"You realize this is illegal, right? You can't seriously expect to just walk out!"

"Watch us. No one knows we're in here except for those guys." I say, pointing to the men unconscious on the floor.

She turns pleadingly to Sam, "Sam, you can't be serious! You're a good guy, you shouldn't be running around with this…thug!"

Sam looks at me a bit uncertainly, "Sorry Sarah, but I trust him. This is all harmless, I promise. I'll tell you all about it later."

_Ouch_. His comment on trust makes me wince on the inside. I still can't believe that I'm actually going to totally screw this guy over. He's been nothing but helpful so far, and I'm not looking towards the time when I'm going to have to ditch him. The guilt gnaws at my heart, but I push it aside. I'm doing this for Lorien.

Sarah shakes her head in disbelief, "I can't believe this is happening."

"Just please forget about all of this, Sarah." Sam pleads.

"As soon as I can get out of here, someone will hear about this." Sarah swears.

"I believe you." I say as I stare her down.

She turns to me, "And you, I'll make sure that-wait!" She pauses and clicks her fingers, "I know you! You're-"

I knock her out with a telekinetic uppercut, and she falls to the floor. Sam just stares at me.

"Dude. We're screwed. She's not kidding around. She recognized us. The instant she wakes up we're gonna get busted."

I take a deep breath. He's right, we completely blew this. The Elders will know I'm trying to escape. The only way to make sure that no word of our presence leaves this room is to kill everyone, and I can never bring myself to do that. Only one option is left to me: I have to find Adamus and leave tonight.

I turn to Sam, "We're doing this tonight. We're gonna get busted anyway, so we might as well have our fun beforehand. Go and wipe the security feeds on the fight. Sorry I convinced you to do this, buddy."

He nods sadly, "It's fine. It all checked out at the start. I guess I just always get burned whenever I play with fire."

I feel terrible for the guy, but I have to see the deception through, "Once the cameras are clear go into the hangar and grab the plane. Fly it to meet me here at these coordinates. I just have to go pick up my buddy."

He nods, "See you in an hour or so."

Then he turns to go back into the command room, and I turn back to the door. I'm about to leave when a small beep sounds form the surveillance room I was in earlier. I frown, and then turn back. I step gingerly over shattered glass and sit back down into the chair at the probe console. The small ship is transmitting live feed, and I frown as I see the fleet hovering in Lorien's orbit. I'd heard no word of the Triumvirate moving from the station, and check the cams from Lorien's moon.

My blood chills when I see that the station in orbit still has all of the Triumvirate ships docked, and turn back to the probe monitor. I carefully analyze the shapes and number of the craft in the phantom fleet, and my heart skips a beat. There isn't a single passenger ship among them, and there are way too many pulse cannons visible to deny myself the reality. And the symbols on the hulls of the ships…I don't know how they managed to stay hidden, or if the Elders _let_ them in, but I now know the terrible truth: A Mogadorian bombing fleet is in orbit over Lorien.

**UP NEXT:**

**Four is out of time!**

**A/N: Hey all, this was a long one. Only a few chapters left, so make sure you post at least three reviews from ch. 16 and on if you want the early preview of the next book. **


	18. Chapter 18

**(Disclaimer: I don't own the Lorien Legacies series or any of its characters.)**

**18**

Four

This time around I waste no time. Within seconds of registering that there was an actual Mogadorian attack primed to be triggered against my own home, I bolt back to pick up my ID band and then run as fast as I can towards Adamus. I hurl open the door and speed through the terminal with my Legacy, no longer caring about being seen. People go flying as I race forward, and in the few seconds it takes me to race out of the port and into the darkening night I must have knocked over at least 100 people. I jump over the bar blocking the road by the gatehouse and tear down the street. I pass by Eilion Park where I was just with Six yesterday and continue moving towards the forest clearing where Adamus said he'd meet me tomorrow.

I skid to a stop in the middle of the wood, spraying huge amounts of dirt into the air. I'm just taking in a deep breath to call out to Adamus when he appears behind a large oak to my left. I almost don't see him with his midnight trench coat against the darkening sky. He's a reassuring sight, with his massive figure and my Chest under his arm. I shouldn't be surprised that he's been staking this place out; he's not the kind of guy who'd take a chance on missing me in my time of need. I instantly speed to his side and he looks down at me with dark eyes.

"What went wrong?" he asks.

"There's a Mogadorian fleet in Lorien's orbit." I gasp out.

His eyes widen and he nearly drops my Chest as he scrambles to enter a string of code into a wrist-mounted pad on his arm, "You're certain?"

Still gasping for breath, I nod.

He grabs my arm and starts pulling me deeper in the forest, "We have to go now. Where's the ship?"

I shakily point back to the city, "Sam will meet us at the abandoned lot near the East Crescent with the ship."

"Sam?"

"Human. We can drop him off once we get to your actual ship in orbit."

Adamus nods as we enter back into the city. It's late at night, and the city's streets are nearly all abandoned as the Loric huddle in their houses, sheltering from the night. Anyone else still up and about the streets run off as soon as they see Adam's imposing figure. As we run through the dead city all I can think about is how I blew it. I wanted to use tomorrow as one last day to spend with Six, to say goodbye to my grandparents and the rest of Ten I didn't see yesterday, to spend time with Brandon, to be with my parents. Any chance of that is gone now. I'm running from my own home, and with the invisible Mogadorian fleet hovering over our heads I honestly don't know if I'll even have a home to come back to.

We pass by places from my childhood as we run through the Elder Gardens, and then it _really_ hits me. I'm leaving Lorien. _Right now_. I don't even know if I'll ever return. We run past the playground where my grandpa taught me how to ride a bike. The field where Six and I played thousands of games together. The garden of the old lady Nine and I used to love to piss off when we were teenagers. The fountain where One would sometimes tutor me for school. The hiking trail that my parents and I walked on one of our few days together. And, then worst of all, the driveway to my house around the corner. If I would just run to the right instead of following Adam, I'd be home. I could tell my grandparents everything, and then maybe walk across the street to Six's.

But I can't do that. I have to keep going. My life has been literally flashing before my eyes, and I'm running away to leave it all behind. Leave everything. My throat constricts and my vision almost starts to blur, but I blink back any tears of weakness. And then I run after Adamus like hell.

We reach a small plaza ringed with fountains, and I'm relieved to see Pittacus standing there, waiting for us. We stop before him, and he grasps Adamus' hand solemnly.

"I came as soon as I got your message," he says, "The Elders won't be far behind you. They know about the airport."

Adamus nods grimly, "We both knew that it would always come down to this. It was only a matter of how long we could keep it a secret."

Pittacus smiles with sad eyes, "You know what you have to do. I trust you. Remember what I said, and never falter. Your world needs you, Adamus Sutekh."

Adam nods and shakes Pittacus' hand gravely. Then Pittacus takes my Chest from him and comes to me, "Everything in here I have to given to you. It all has a purpose, but none is greater than using this to free Lorien from itself. Inside you will find a final lesson from me. I have faith in you, Number Four. You are pure of heart, and I know that one day you will achieve something far greater than I could ever hope to aspire to."

I take the Chest gingerly, and look up at him, "I can't open it without Brandon."

Pittacus holds out a hand and closes his eyes. The Chest's lock glows red, and I feel it warm in the cool, night air. Then its warmth dies to that of a still ember, and Pittacus opens his eyes.

"Now you can. The road ahead of you is hard, Number Four. But you are the only one who can walk it."

Then he holds out his hand, and I shake it. For a single instant, I see the three of us in the sixth sense, all burning pillars of light. Something rushes into me from Pittacus, and I glow with warmth. But then I realize that there is another one of us here, and remember Setrakus' shadow. I see Pittacus' eyes stiffen as he realizes it too, and Adam is turning away when something strikes my side.

I look down to see a sharpened purple pulsing stone embedded in my stomach, and I grow pale. And then the pain starts. Pittacus and I both go rigid, our hands still held together now sleek with sweat. But neither of us can let go and I sink to my knees, bringing Pittacus down with me. I'm dimly aware of Adam drawing his white dagger and moving to stand over us, but all I can completely understand is the pain. Pittacus is down beside me, gasping as we suffer together. It's like someone is literally tearing out a piece of my soul, clawing into my heart with burning hot irons. All I can think is that it shouldn't hurt, that my Lumen should protect me, that I _am_ fire, but it claws me apart. Every part of my insides is aflame, and every part of me screams out in desperation. But no sound can escape from my mouth, and Pittacus and I slowly die a thousand deaths a hundred times over in the deepest reaches of our soul.

And then the pain slowly recedes, and the energy binding us together vanishes with a loud snap. We fly apart, both gasping, and I land with my cheek against the cold, hard stone. I sluggishly touch my torso, and lift my hand up to see it soaked in blood. I'm instantly nauseous and dizzy, and the world around me shrinks to a keyhole as I slowly begin to black out. But I push through, until I actually look down my body. The purple shard is embedded in my stomach, slowly pulsating with a sickly light. I struggle to reach it, and my hands burn when they come into contact with its rough surface. Gasping for breath, I sag back against the ground, and close my eyes. Then I inhale deeply, and violently rip the shard out of my gut with telekinesis. It clatters against the plaza's floor, and I curl into pain and begin a small round of convulsions as acid bubbles up from my stomach. My eyes water, and I finally cry out in pain. But I know I'm in danger, and struggle to a single knee, nearly blacking out again.

What I see haunts me. Ringed around us, are eight of the Elders, clad in ancient Loric robes and battle armor like Pittacus. They all radiate power and hatred, and I feel their eyes burning into me. Lupa is there, smiling softly with devil's eyes as she caresses the hilt of a sword. The Elder Elkin stands tall and rigid with a long pipe-staff, ominous against the night. Matoran glares at Adam spitefully from across the plaza, his lip curled in contempt as he grips a wickedly sharp trident. Bariotick is still, ringed by monstrous Chimæra in the forms of snakes and other devilish creatures. Serlica, Zar and the others all surround us as well. But also in this innermost ring is Setrakus Ra, massive and glaring at Adam with eyes so full of hatred that they literally steam. And even worse, standing ominously behind their leaders and all around the rooftops surrounding the plaza are Mogadorians, and even humans clad in power armor.

Adam and Pittacus stand over me, the only thing protecting me from over a thousand enemies. Pittacus stands tall, nursing his side, but with a determined and challenging look on his face. Adams stands beside him, his pale white dagger glowing in one hand and the other clenched in a fist glowing with red energy at his side. Then I notice ripples of energy forming a dome over us, as Pittacus protects us from whatever assault the Elders are launching against us with their Legacies.

"You live." Lupa said coldly, addressing Pittacus.

He grits his teeth as the Elders all step forward, intensifying their invisible attack, "Yes. I live so that you all may die."

Serlica addresses him with dead eyes, "You know you cannot stop this. It has already happened to this world a thousand times over. You know this to be true. You have _seen_ it yourself."

"Not this world." Pittacus growled.

"They are all the same." Tarioun insisted softly, inclining his head.

"You of all people should understand that a single decision can result in an entirely different world."

"Not here," Matoran shook his head, "This is the only way."

"There is always another path." Pittacus replied defiantly.

The Elders tighten the ring again, and I nearly pass out from the sheer power flowing from the beings around me. And in the sixth sense, I see a raging war of fire and shadow, the two wreathing and roaring like infuriated dragons as they dance against each other. It's overwhelming, and it takes everything I have to stay standing. But I can't even do that, and as I sink to the floor my knees clatters against purple stone, and I sluggishly slip it inside my pocket.

Setrakus Ra now stepped forward, "Even I have bowed to the wisdom of this plan, and there are even those among the humans who see the only path to peace. To order. To freedom."

"Your freedom is a mockery," Pittacus spoke through clenched teeth, "I will _never_ let it come to pass."

Lupa slowly circled him, and the other Elders stepped back. She stared him down with her stormy eyes, and Pittacus gazed back with cold vengeance.

"Beloved. You know you can't save the boy," she spoke softly, "You can't even save yourself. You cannot run. The Phoenix Stone has done its work."

"What?" I gasp out, still bleeding out against the stones beneath me.

Lupa turned her dark, grey eyes on me, and I shivered, "It took away your speed, Number Four. And his, and his teleportation, and any hope you ever had of leaving here alive. Gone. Forever."

I don't want to believe her, but when I try to speed myself up nothing happens. I still have control over all of my other Legacies, but my speed is gone. I remember the piece of my soul being ripped away, and struggle to my feet as I lean against Adamus' shoulder. I want to cry, and I mentally call out to Hadley for help.

Lupa smiles at me, and the hatred in her eyes burns all the way to my heart, "Because of you, your family will die. Your parents, your grandparents, your Cêpan. All of the Ten. Everyone and anyone you could have ever loved."

I sag against Adamus in despair, and he squeezes my shoulder and props me back up.

"Give up," Lupa almost sang seductively, turning her attention back to Pittacus, "Just accept it. This the only way we can ever hope to survive."

Pittacus took a deep shuddering breath, and then changed his stance in resolve. He lifts his eyes, and I see the fire of a man willing to do anything to protect his home, "We were meant to protect this planet. To rule, and stand above the others."

Below us the ground rumbles, and several buildings start to shake.

"We were supposed to honor the Old Way, and secure the future of the New Age."

Cracks appear in the stone beneath our feet, and the sky above our heads darkens as storm clouds gather.

"And then, when it was time, we were supposed to be a sacrifice. To ensure the future of our race. To protect _Lorien_."

The sky above crackles with lightning, and an ominous wind begins to swirl the fallen leaves around the plaza violently.

"That was our code! That was our duty! That was _our promise_!" Pittacus says, nearly screaming.

The sky above explodes in a torrent of rain, and the wind picks up to that of a tornado, cutting off the Mogadorians and humans. It whips Lupa's hair around her, and the other Elders, along with Setrakus Ra, stand ominously alone against the storm. Their Loric robes flap violently in the storm, and rivulets of water stream off Pittacus' silver armor. I'm nearly blinded against the storm, and Adam struggles to haul me to my feet beside him.

"You. Failed. That. Promise." Pittacus said, stepping forward with each word.

The Elders slowly moved up to meet him, matching each step for step, staring us all down with dead eyes revolved with shadow.

"It is time for your atonement."

And then Pittacus' barrier came down, and the world exploded in a monstrous display of fire, wind, shadow, and light.

**UP NEXT:**

**Pittacus Lore stands alone against the Elders!**

**A/N: Hey all, this is it. We're seriously down to the final stretch here. The last three chapters of the book will be released together, and then it's done. The Finale is this upcoming Friday, May 24****th****. The same day, there will be one chapter released on ****_The Fallen Legacies_**** giving you a small hint of what's to come, and then I'm taking a long break to write several of the chapters for book two. That way I can give you guys a normal release schedule for a while. Of course, if you guys post at least 3 reviews on chapters 16 and up, you'll get an early preview of book 2 via PM. Thanks to those who actually read this long, boring note, and I hope the ending delivers the satisfying punch you've all been waiting for.**


	19. Chapter 19

**(Disclaimer: I don't own the Lorien Legacies series or any of its characters.)**

**19**

Four

Adamus immediately hurls me to the ground, and I gasp as I hit the cold hard stone. Pittacus is incredible, hurling bolts of energy and light while the earth shakes and moves beneath us. The wind roars, spraying streams of water into my face, and lightning splits the sky, reaching down to obliterate everything with its touch. Pittacus hurls cars around with telekinesis as if they were toys, creating a staggering display of fireworks. Mogadorians scream as the buildings around them collapse, and humans writhe in pain as their power suits overload into electric fireballs. I start to struggle to my feet, but Adamus hurls me down again.

"Down!" He screams at me, hurling bolts of red energy at approaching Mogadorians. They scream and fall to the ground, but several manage to shoot back. Adamus shoves me out of the way, but a sickly green bolt of light hit his shoulder. He roars, and throws out his hand. The ground beneath their feet glows red, and then quakes. The earth rolls and heaves around them even more violently than before, and then a sprouting geyser of magma erupts from the ground. It bubbles over and seeps forward, catching the remaining Mogs in the current. They scream and fall, only to shriek when their bodies land on the molten ground before the burst into ash. The air reeks of burnt flesh and ozone, and I cough as Adamus roars again, and several more pillars of molten fire erupt from the heaving earth.

I unsteadily rise to my knees, and gaze around with horror and awe. I've never seen anything on Lorien like this before. There hasn't been a war to cause this parallel of damage in over a thousand years. The plaza is nearly completely gone, the buildings crumbled by Pittacus' quakes and the wreckage now hurled around in a violent storm with his telekinesis. The pouring rain makes a sharp contrast to the fountains of fire erupting beneath us, and the ground is littered with ash and human bodies. Adamus is ruthless, hurling streams of red energy from his hands, while the earth splits and releases a fiery hell on our enemies. But the most captivating, and by far most horrifying aspect of the destruction around me is Pittacus against the Elders.

They stand in the center of the vortex, wind and rain raging around them as lightning rains down on their heads. Pittacus is incredible, taking on all eight of the Elders and Setrakus Ra, while directing the storm to destroy the human and Mog foot-soldiers. I watch as Elkin swings his pipe-staff at Pittacus, who kicks it away as he hurls himself over Zar's lunging hands. He lands on Serlica and smashes her into the ground, then springs up to hurl Setrakus Ra away with a telekinetic blast. He kicks Calatoa's feet out from under while he swing s a backhanded fist crackling with lightning into Zar's stomach. Simultaneously, he hurls a fiery fist into Lupa's face, then snatches her collar as she reels away in pain and hurls back over his head into one of Adamus' erupting geysers of lava. Bariotick tackles him to the floor, cracking the stone, but Pittacus uses the Legacy of repulsion to hurl him away. As he leaps to his feet he raises his hand and then strikes the ground, releasing another wave of quakes that hurl the Elders away from him. Lupa teleports in mid-air to Pittacus' side, but as soon as she appears he hurls a bolt of lightning down from the sky, blasting her away. Bariotick's Chimæra transform into monstrous beasts and roar as they thunder towards Pittacus. He twists and flings out his hand. Spikes of earth erupt from the stone and impale the Chimæra in midair as they leap for him. Then the Elders are on him again.

He parries a thrust from Matoran's trident with the spiked ridges on his arm gauntlets and releases a swift kick to Tarioun's side then sends him skidding across the floor. Elkin growls and launches himself into the air, while Setrakus rushes forward and smashes his staff into Pittacus' side while he blasts Serlica with a ring of sonics. The blow catches him off-balance and he stumbles back, only to have Elkin land and deliver a blow augmented with his super strength that sends Pittacus crashing the through the miraculously still-standing fountain in the center of the plaza. He lands amidst the sprouting water, and Calatoa grins and rushes forward, only to shriek when Pittacus electrifies the water around them. By then Pittacus is up and fighting again without missing a beat. He parries Tarioun's attacks with his one arm and uses the other to hurl Zar's face into the stone floor. The Elders all suddenly stumble as he unleashes a physic attack on their minds, followed up by a physical one as he raises his arms to the sky. He grimaces, and then swings them down to the floor as a massive bolt of lightning spits the sky and comes hurling down from the storm.

The blast makes even Adamus and me stumble, and my ears ring mercilessly. When the smoke clears I see the fight has already resumed. Pittacus has trapped Elkin in a swirling vortex of rain and wind, while he barrages Zar and Serlica with constant spikes of stone erupting from the earth, which they have no choice but to fully focus on or risk being impaled. Pittacus has set Tarioun on fire with a continuous bolt of lightning arcing down from the sky, but he grimaces and comes forward slowly as he heals himself over and over again. Matoran launches himself forward with a pillar of stone erupting from the earth, and Pittacus catches him in midair. He stops his assault with a brutal uppercut, and kicks his feet out so that he lands on his knees, dazed. Then he grabs him by the head and twist, hurling him into the building behind him. I duck and dash to the side as he goes hurtling past where I was a moment before.

All around us more humans and Mogadorians are pouring in though, and I have no idea how we'll escape. I shakily get to my feet, but freeze when I hear a loud rumbling sound behind me. I turn, and see Matoran lifting several massive slabs of concrete off himself, panting heavily. Then he sees me, and his eyes light up as he emerges from the wreckage. He grins as he strolls forth from the wreckage, and I back up slowly. His grin grows even wider, and holds out his hand. His trident bolts from the wreckage and through the air straight into his hand, summoned by his telekinesis.

"Number Four," he drawls, still grinning wickedly.

I stare at the seven razor-sharp ends of the trident, and swallow. I can easily imagine those points stabbing into me, my life ebbing from my body. I would almost welcome it. I'm so tired, and the wound from the Phoenix Stone hurts so damn much. My vision is constantly forcing me to peer through a black tunnel, and ending it all sounds so nice and easy. But I don't really want to die, so I ready myself for his assault. Adamus turns and see us, then spins in front of me.

"You," he growls, spitting hatred at Matoran.

He laughs and slicks back his chestnut hair, then holds his arms wide open, "You again. It's been so long. Tell me, how's your sister?"

Adamus roars and steps forward with clenched fists, "I'm going to kill you."

Matoran laughs, and then his eyes grow serious, "No you won't. I'm here to finish the job."

Adamus roars and they both leap forward, but they never connect. Pittacus hurtles out of nowhere and tackles Matoran in midair. They land against the ground with a loud crack, and Pittacus hurls him up and then back down again with blows augmented by his Legacy of super-strength. The ground shakes as he slams him down one more time, and then hurls Matoran across the plaza. The rest of the Elders roar forward and Pittacus sends them scattering with a massive telekinetic blast. In the one moment of calm amidst the storm, he stares at us. In that single instant I take everything about him in. He stands tall and proud, regal even. He's panting for breath, but still crackles with energy. His Loric robes swirl amidst the wind and rain, and the destruction he's wrought stands a sharp contrast behind him as lightning splits the sky again and fire erupts from the earth. His eyes are cold and calm, but still glitter with a mixture of sadness and hope as he stares at me. Then he speaks a single word, and I know that this is the end.

"Go."

Adamus and I nod, then race away, Adam only stopping to scoop up my Chest. Pittacus stares sadly after us, and then turns to face the oncoming wave of enemies. He splays his hands and hurls lightning and the full fury of the storm against hundreds of oncoming Mogadorians and humans. He begins to raze them with his fury, leaving none standing. He continues to eliminate everyone while he once again leaps toward the Elders, and they clash one last time.

Adamus and I feel the ground rumble as we race away. I'm gasping for breath, each step sending a new wave of agony over me as my wound screams out at me in pain. Up ahead there are even more Mogadorians, and Adamus races ahead of me to deal with them. He swipes one's neck open with his pale white dagger and then buries it another one's skull as he uses his other hand to send bolts of flowing red energy at the remaining soldiers. They scream and burst to ash, and I help by hurling two against a tree with my telekinesis, causing them to crumple, unconscious. Adam impales the last Mog in the neck with his dagger, and then raises his hand to splay the red energy once again at the two Mogs I had knocked out, turning them to ash. Adam is about to move on again, but he stops when I grasp his arm.

"Wait…" I manage to gasp out.

He looks at me impatiently, "We have to go, Four. Remember the ship!"

I shake my head, "I need…my Chest."

He pauses, then swings it down to my feet, "Hurry."

I nod, and hold my hand against the lock. It glows red, and then pops open. Despite my condition I can't help but marvel how weird it is, opening it without Brandon. I dig around inside until I drag out the black healing stone, and hold to my side. I take a deep breath, anticipating the pain of my wound sealing itself up, but it never comes. I look down, puzzled, and find that the stone isn't working. I try again, with no result. While the wound isn't life threatening, I won't be able to make it to the ship in this state. I put the stone back in the chest, freaking out. I don't know what to do until I see a small leather bag. I quickly open it and pop a small pebble into my mouth. My strength returns to me as the Loric Salt revitalizes my body, and pop my Chest closed and hand it to Adam.

He's impatient, and we bolt as soon as I'm off the ground. The Loric Salt is amazing: I feel great. The only downside is that I can't use my Legacies or its effects will disappear, but I'm hoping Adam can handle whatever comes our way. We head through the streets to East Crescent, near the abandoned lot where Sam had promised to meet us. I can only hope that he hasn't been scared away by the explosions and is still there. As we run, I can't help but think how much help my speed Legacy would be right now. I feel vulnerable without it, and I swear to myself that I'll find a way to get it back. We reach another checkpoint of Mogs, and Adam deals with them all. I can't remember seeing so many in the city earlier today, so they must have just dropped from the fleet above us.

That thought tightens my throat, and I pray that Six and the others will be okay. It's obvious that the humans and Mogadorians have allied themselves with the Elders, and I can't help but wonder how we'll ever defeat all three of them. But that's a worry for another day, as we come up on one final checkpoint. They turn and fire bolts of green sickly light towards us, and my instincts take over. I launch myself onto a small railing and then into a tree, putting the few free-running skills Two taught me to good use. I dash through the branches and then launch myself into the next tree along the sidewalk. Some of the Mogs turn upwards and try to blast me, exposing themselves to Adamus. I hurl myself down from the branches onto one, and knock his head against the ground, knocking him out. Another Mog rises and aims at me, but he never gets the shot off. An eagle screeches and swoops down from the sky, digging its talons into the soldier's eyes. It screams and raises its hands to its face before it bursts into ash. Behind me Adam finishes off the Mog I knocked out as he pushes me forward again. I still call out though as the eagle transforms into a beagle and starts running beside me, relieved.

"Hadley! You heard me!"

He nods, and the three of us run through the abandoned city. We're close now though, and I'm beginning to actually see some light at the end of this very dark tunnel. We finally turn onto East Crescent, and then we stop in shock. Matoran sits on the ground in the middle of the street, blocking our path, his trident resting against his knees. He uncrosses his legs and stands, smiling maliciously.

"Hello again."

**UP NEXT:**

**The battle continues!**

**A/N: I hope all of you action junkies are satisfied. :) Please review! And remember that **

**if you post at least 3 reviews on chapters 16 and up, you'll get an early preview of book 2 via PM.**


	20. Chapter 20

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Lorien Legacies series or any of its characters.)**

**20**

Four

Adamus growls and steps forward, and Hadley bristles and changes into some sort of tiger beside me. Matoran just smiles with an amused twinkle in his eyes. I clench my fists and ready myself for the pain to come back. I'm going to have to use my Legacies here, there's no doubt about that.

Matoran smiles and strolls towards us casually, "It really is cute you know, what you're trying to pull off."

Adamus grits his teeth, "We'll see."

Matoran grins, "Still touchy, huh?"

Adamus growls, "Enough banter. I'm going to kill you now."

Matoran suddenly has a devilish glint in his eyes, "I had the same idea."

He holds out his hand and the earth beneath us starts to rumble. Spikes erupt from the street, but Adam swings his fists and breaks them apart. He fights back with a quake of his own, attempting to stabilize the ground beneath us. Beneath Matoran, the ground glows red hot, and he smiles. He spins to the side as an enormous geyser of magma erupts from earth, seeping towards him. Other, smaller gouts of lava erupt, all racing towards him. He responds by swinging his trident into the ground, and elevating himself onto a pillar of stone that erupts from the earth. The magma crashes against the stone, struggling to melt it away in vain, but it's too thick. He stands above us, two stories high, and stares us down with a wild laughter. Then he reaches out his hands again, and I hear a high-pitched whistling. Then the street in front of us explodes, as water erupts from the pipes running through the city beneath us.

It rears up and around Matoran's pillar like a wreathing snake, and he fastens it into a wave. It rumbles as it speeds towards, sweeping up everything in its path. It's massive, easily as tall as the buildings around us. I futilely ready myself to attempt to hold it back with telekinesis, a feat that would be nearly impossible even on my best day, let alone when I'm exhausted and wounded. But Adamus gets there first, and a wall of magma explodes before us, meeting the wave head-on. I hear an enormous hiss as the water meets the fire and transforms into steam, blowing past us. It's thick, hot and heavy, and leaves us completely blind. I hear Matoran laughing as he moves towards, and take a deep breath to ready myself. Then I spit out the Loric Salt, and snap on my Lumen, sweeping the mist with my hands. It reveals Matoran racing towards Adam, who spins out of the way just in time thanks to the restored vision. I stumble as all the pain comes rushing back, but I dig as deep as I can and struggle to my feet.

Up ahead, Hadley rushes forward and launches himself at Matoran, clawing at his back. While his armor blocks most of it, it makes him stumble, giving Adam a chance to hit him head-on with a bolt of the red energy from his palms. Matoran hits the ground, but just as quickly hurls Hadley off him and kicks Adamus' feet from out under him as he rushes forward. They both launch themselves at each other, Adam knocking Matoran's trident out of his hands. They roll across the ground, and Adam tries to pull out his dagger, but Matoran pins his arm.

I desperately try to struggle to my feet, but I'm just too weak from my wound. Matoran grabs the dagger from Adam's hand and is about to plunge it into his skull when Hadley comes out of nowhere and bulls him over. Matoran curses and hurls him away, and I hear Hadley crying out in pain in my mind. Adam manages to get to his feet, and holds out his hand to erupt a geyser of fire under Matoran that sends him flying. He lands across the hood of a car, crumpling it as its sirens blare. I'm just preparing myself to head over to Hadley when a lightning bolt flashes through my mind.

I suddenly see myself back at the plaza, with Pittacus fighting the remaining Elders and Setrakus Ra. All of the human and Mogadorian soldiers have been killed, completely wiped out by Pittacus. It's incredible, there are literally hundreds of bodies. I watch as in the center of the plaza, Pittacus catches Serlica's whip and yanks her forward, driving his knee into her face. As she reels back in pain, he uses the momentum of a punch from Bariotick to swing him over his shoulder and barreling into her. They both fall to the floor as Pittacus delivers ten rapid-fast punches to Zar's mid-section before turning and releasing a sonic blast on Calatoa, who reels in pain as her advanced hearing has to suffer through the shrieks. He delivers bolts of lightning to both Elkin and Setrakus Ra, and then headbutts Lupa as she materializes in front of him.

He clenches her head between his fist and growls into her scared eyes, "I won't be finished that easily."

Then he hurls her across the plaza, and she skids into a ditch, sending chips of stone flying everywhere. He turns to deflect a telekinetic blast from Tarioun, and then I'm suddenly back with Adamus and Matoran. I gasp from the vision, and am then sent flying as Matoran screams in fury from across me as he releases an enormous telekinetic blast along with a massive earthquake. I grunt as I land against the shifting earth, and roll onto my side in pain. Adam lands nearby, but instantly gets back up and rushes towards our opponent once again. Across the street Matoran growls and wrenches Adam's white dagger out of his arm, spraying blood against the pavement. Then he turns to Adam and gives a furious yell as he calls up another wave of water and sends it rushing towards him. Adam grunts as it hits him in the mid-section, but manages to stay upright and begins to push through.

I see the waves rushing at me and gasp in pain as I rapidly form a telekinetic shield around myself. Just before the water crashes over my head I see Hadley turn into a shark and tear through the water to where Adam and Matoran are once again trading blows. Then the wave reaches me, and all of my attention is focused on keeping up my shield. I'm soon completely underwater, and watch in bewilderment as I see a car flow past the street with the current. I can see Adam and Matoran up to their torsos underwater, and flashes of Adam's red light above the surface. But one instant I'm watching Hadley latch himself onto Matoran's leg with his teeth, and the next I'm back watching Pittacus somehow.

Back in the plaza, Pittacus is beginning to tire. While he's still dealing out massive amounts of damage, he's starting to take more and more hits. I watch as he sends a fist crackling with an icy blue energy into Tarioun's side just before he launches a fireball at Elkin. But Zar is also there, invisible, and she delivers a massive telekinetic shockwave that sends him skidding across the plaza. But he's up in time to block Calatoa's staff swinging down on his head, and with a sudden burst of energy, he knocks her aside and tackles Bariotick. He pounds his head repeatedly against the ground and then hurls him up into the air. At the height of the arc, a massive bolt of lightning strikes him, sending him plummeting into a crater in the ground. An arc of the energy from the bolt spirals into Pittacus' outstretched hand and he hurls a tendril of the energy at Setrakus Ra, wrapping it about his neck. The skin bubbles as the leash of lightning burns into his skin, and Pittacus wraps another whip around his feet, yanking him to the floor. Setrakus Ra's eyes bulge as he claws at his neck, and then Pittacus whips him back into Zar and knocks them both out, leaving Setrakus with a sickly scar around his neck.

He turns back to Elkin and Lupa and fires a bolt of blue energy at them again just as I come back to Adam and Matoran. Gasping, I finally motivate myself to stand, and see Hadley lying wounded beside me with a gash from Matoran's trident running along his side. Matoran himself has Adam in a headlock, and the two are struggling furiously.

"Hadley," I manage to croak out.

He pants and opens a single eye, _"Four. I'm fine. Help Adam!"_

I gasp as I stagger over to him, "I don't know if I can. I'm so tired…"

Hadley fixates me with the single eye, _"You can. I know it's hard, but you can do this. Go!"_

I shudder, and then nod. I take a deep breath, trying to block out the sounds of the struggle behind me. I search for motivation, and think about my parents, the Ten, my anger at the Elders. But I mostly think about Six, and what these people want to do to her. The thought of her being hurt makes me sick, and I gradually realize that I've slipped into the sixth sense. Hadley is before me, a simmering column of light. Adam and Matoran are wreathing monsters of shadow and smoke, and fire and light. I breathe deeply and reach out, to the fire I feel burning at Lorien's core, to the stone on the plateau amidst all the shadow. The light rushes into me, and I feel my strength return to me. I glow as bright as the day I did when the Triumvirate arrived, and then that phantom world disappears. But I remain, and so does my strength and resolve.

Matoran is just about to smash and elbow into Adam's overturned head when he's sent rocketing through the air, a surprised look on his face. I yank him down into the street with telekinesis an instant before he hits the side of a building, and the ground shudders on impact. He staggers up out of the crater, snarling, and sends a string of earthquakes towards me. I drive a massive telekinetic wall through the earth between us, holding it back.

Matoran sneers as he strides forward, and casually kicks Adamus away to the side as he struggles to get to his feet. He crashes against a lamppost, crumpling it. He's wounded, but still alive. I slowly walk forward to meet him as Matoran begins to gather up a vortex of swirling water about him.

"You're going to die now." He promises me, venom dripping from every word.

I shake my head, "Why? What did we ever do?"

His eyes blaze with fury, "You would have us fade away, be discarded like trash! Lorien would never survive under the rule of such fools like you! It would NEVER choose you usurpers over us! We, who have guarded it for centuries!"

With the end of his speech he rears the water around him into the form of a massive dragon, blocking the entire street. I take a deep breath, and answer him, "It did. We're the Elders now."

Matoran's eyes glittered dangerously as he hissed, "Never."

Then he brought down his hands, and the dragon surged forward. It roared, crashing its head down to swallow me whole. But I never gave it the chance. Concentrating, I hurled down a massive thunderbolt from the sky. It landed directly among the spikes on the back of its neck, and the dragon screamed as the water making up its body sizzled and popped with electricity as it burst apart on contact. And Matoran screamed too, as the lightning arced and traveled down the dragon's conductive body to the Elder. He writhed in pain against the ground in the instant before the thunder clapped and he was hurled down into the pavement of the street.

I instantly ran forward, and landed a blow augment with lightning crackling from my fist right as he lifted his head from the wreckage. He reeled back, clutching his jaw, as Adamus roared with laughter and slowly stood from where he had crumple earlier. Something was changed with Matoran, and I saw as I lunged towards him again that any sign of morbid amusement was gone now. Instead it been replaced with fear, and I feel a sick satisfaction about that as I land another crackling blow across his face. He reels back in pain, but I yank him back to me with telekinesis and land another blow into his midsection. He doubles over, and I bring a fist crackling with lightning down on his back. He sinks to the floor, but blasts me away with a powerful earthquake.

When I look up, Adamus and Hadley have rejoined the fight, and Matoran is sweating, gritting his teeth as he expertly swings his trident around in a deadly arc. I take advantage of that and yank it right out of his grip, and surprise flickers across his face as Adamus smashes him into the ground. I ignite myself by striding through the lava Adamus summoned earlier and join the duel. Hadley darts around Matoran's feet, keeping him off-balance and distracted while Adam and I hurl everything we have at him. Adam razes him with bolts of red energy, and the earth is constantly rumbling and exploding with magma beneath us as they fight for control of the ground. Matoran and I hurl constant telekinetic blasts at each other, for once evenly matched thanks to Adam and Hadley's intervention. But he has no defense against the lightning bolts I continually hurl at him, and he can't dodge everything. And all the way, I barrage him with a flurry of fists both glowing with fire and crackling with lightning. He's slowly sinking closer and closer to defeat, and he knows it.

He gives one final roar, and the earth shatters around us. We're all thrown back, and only my hastily-made telekinetic shield prevents us from being impaled by spikes of earth erupting from the earth. Adam fights to control the ground, but Matoran just roars even louder and increases the attack. All around us the buildings are shaking, and I realize he's planning to bring down the entire street. Tremors shake the floor, as the ground literally rolls under our feet in a series of waves. Adamus grits his teeth and roars back, but he can't even calm the ground beneath our feet. To our left a building begins to crumble, showering the street with debris and dust as it comes crashing down. And still Matoran screams even louder, his hatred barraging us with telekinetic blasts. I have only one idea, and even then it might not even work.

I turn to Adam, who has his hands planted against the earth as he struggles, "Throw me!"

"What?" he roars back at me over the screams of Matoran's hatred and the sound of the destruction of the street.

"Just do it!" I scream back at him as yet another building comes crashing down.

He growls, but gives up whatever attempt he had been making to stabilize the street. Instantly the tremors grow worse and we both stumble towards each other. He grabs me, and hurls me as far as he can. Halfway towards Matoran I know I won't make it all the way, so I spin as best I can in midair and blast my telekinesis behind me, using it like a rocket to propel me forward. It works, and Matoran growls, and lunges for me with his trident. I just barely spin out of the way, but it still grazes me. Blocking out the pain, I land a punch that knocks him to the floor. Then I hold him up by his head, look deep into his eyes swirling full of hatred, and surge with my power. Electricity courses through me, past my hands and into his body. He goes rigid, and starts to convulse, but I lay it on even more. A massive bolt of lightning splits the sky, and surges into me, and I direct it all through my hands to electrify him even more. His eyes are wide, and his skin is blistering, and I know that it'd be so easy to just keep it pouring it on, until there was nothing left but a shell of a man in front of me. But I can't. I can't kill.

I release him and we both sag back. He's sprawled against the ground, moaning, utterly defeated. But he's laughing.

"Why didn't you kill me?" he snarls, despite his grotesque state of blistered and fried skin.

"Because I'm better than you," I reply as I hear Adam approach in the distance. "Because we're going to be better than you. We're going to be the Elders that Lorien deserves. And we will _never_ betray it."

"You fool," he laughs painfully, "You'll be just like us. It's only a matter of time before it casts you aside too."

"Then that's how it will be." I say quietly.

He's about to reply when Adam abruptly shoulders past me, and knocks me to the floor. I stare in horror he clutches his dagger in his fists and plunges it deep into Matoran's skull.

"No!" I call out, but Adam doesn't even hear me. He's too far gone, lost in some kind of bloodlust. His entire body is taut, shaking with rage as he slowly draws the knife out of Matoran's now lifeless body. I stare on in horror as he sheathes it, and then cradles Matoran's head, leaning in quietly to murmur in his ear.

"That was for Kelly." He growls, rage permeating every word.

"Why?" I demand, getting to my feet as Hadley comes bounding up, "He was finished. You didn't have to kill him."

Adam stood and stared at me, increduluous, "Didn't have to kill him? He's been trying to slit your throat ever since you were born. You have a lot to learn, boy." He spat the last word.

I stand my ground, but don't push further. Obviously, there was history between him, Matoran, and this Kelly. And something tells me that Adamus is the only one left alive who knows the answers to that.

"If you're done," Adam growls, "We have a ship to catch."

I nod, and run after him. My wound starts to throb again, but I just grit my teeth and keep running. I've come too far to be stopped now. It hits me that these are my last steps on Lorien, and the enormity of what we have just done finally registers in my brain. I don't know if I can ever return. We just killed an Elder. I'm an official criminal. I can only hope now that I'll make it back one day, and that nothing will happen to Six or any of my family.

We turn the corner to the abandoned lot, and to my immense relief, the ship is miraculously there. The hatch is down, and I spot Sam waiting on the ramp. He jumps up as soon as we come into view, and starts to scream at us hysterically.

"Four! What the hell is going on! There's been like a hundred explosions over the past hour! What the hell was that freakin' storm? And who the hell is-"

He's cut off as Adam grabs him by the neck and hurls him against the side of the ship. He draws his dagger and places it over Sam's neck and rowls threatingly.

"Drive."

Sam nods, terrified, and scampers up the ramp as soon as Adamus drops him. He looks at me with wide, hurt, betrayed eyes as he takes in the ash in my hair and blood soaking my t-shirt.

"I'm sorry, Sam." I say, attempting to apologize, but he just shakes his head

"Don't go there. Just don't."

Adamus follows him up the ramp, but I pause and look out over my home one last time. Struck by a sudden impulse, I take off my sock and fill it with dirt from the lot. I straighten up, and walk up to Hadley, who's waiting at the top of the ramp.

"Ready?" he asks, wagging his tail.

I'm relieved to see that his wound isn't bothering him too much and am about to reply one I receive one final vision back at the plaza. This one is by far the worst, and when it's over I'm on the floor, sobbing. Adam shouts from the cockpit and Hadley howls as I writhe against the cold, white floor. But all I can think about is the pain, and the despair, and scream, as I watch a fiery scar wrap itself around my ankle, burning brightly against the dead night sky.

**UP NEXT:**

**The End!**

**A/N: So close here! Once chapter left! Please review! And remember that if you post at least 3 reviews on chapters 16 and up, you'll get an early preview of book 2 via PM.**


	21. Chapter 21

**(Disclaimer: I don't own the Lorien Legacies series or any of its characters.)**

**21**

Six

I stand with the rest of Ten amidst the gigantic crowd in Eilion Park, looking up at the enormous vid screens that have been erected around all of the buildings. Our Cêpan are all here too, looking grim. Brandon is particularly frantic. None of us have seen Four since last night, and with whatever the hell happened last night, that's definitely not good. Some kind of freak storm or battle happened, and a good couple blocks of London have been completely destroyed. If weren't for this mandatory assembly, he'd be out there now searching for Four. And I'd be right beside him.

I can't stand the thought of something bad happening to Four, especially now. Things are finally starting to fall into place. I want to tell myself that he's just spending some time on his own, maybe just needed some time after he had another panic attack like when the Triumvirate arrived. But despite all my self-assurances, I know something is wrong. He never came back to his grandparents' after he left early in the morning, and no one knows where his parents are. Then there's the eight blocks of the city that have been razed, and now this mysterious assembly.

I bit my lip nervously, and I feel an arm slide around my shoulder. I look up to see One next to me, looking down at me with worry in her eyes, "You OK?"

I shrug, "Just wondering where Four is."

She rubs my back comfortingly, "I'm sure he's fine."

I nod glumly, "I'm going to kick his ass when I find him."

Nine pipes up from where he's standing with Eight and Three, "Can I buy tickets to that show?"

"All sold out." I call back to him, and Five snickers beside me.

I glance curiously at Two, who's peering intently at the sky. I'm about to ask her what's wrong when the screens mounted on the buildings finally spark to life. The crowd falls silent, except for Nine, who has to be shushed by Sandor when he keeps talking to Three. The screens flicker, and then reveal an image of the Elders seated in thrones on a dais. I frown as Lupa's face fills the screen, noticing that they're all wearing black robes.

Lupa clears her throat and gazes out among the crowd, and then speaks in a sorrowful, monotone voice, "Friends, Pittacus Lore is dead."

Four

I sit on my bunk in Adam's ship, staring out the window at the stars streaking past as we rocket away from Lorien. We're already twelve hours gone, and the planet is nothing more than a speck in the distance. I wish I had Two's Legacy that granted her eagle-vision so that I could watch it speed away for just a little while longer. I glance at my Chest and the glass sphere resting on the bedside table containing the dirt from Lorien that I scooped up in the lot. At least I'm taking one little piece of home with me. I sigh, and then turn my attention back to my leg. I glumly trace the red, raw scar embedded just above my ankle. It still hurts to touch, so I only graze over it lightly. I bite my lip, and let out a deep breath.

The door hisses open, and Adamus steps in. He stares at my scar until I let my pants' leg fall and twist so that I'm facing him.

"How's Sam?" I ask.

He snorts, "Whiny."

I feel another familiar pang of guilt. It's my fault he's here, rocketing through space with two wanted fugitives. I lied to him, and brought him here. I had no intention of bringing him this far at the start. But there simply wasn't time to drop him off when we switched ships, and now he's stuck with us for the long haul.

"What'd you expect?" I ask, "He doesn't want to be here."

He gives a small morbid laugh, "You think any of us want to be here?"

I nod, agreeing with him glumly. We settle into a morbid silence until Adam shifts uncomfortably and then holds out his hand.

"I didn't get a chance to tell you yet, but you did good back there. For what it's worth, I've got your back in this."

I take his hand, and give a sad smile, "Thanks."

He smiles back, "I'll make a warrior out of you yet."

I nod, but I don't really want to be a warrior. I just want to be who I was before all of this, and be with Six. But that's no longer possible for me. Adam gets up to leave and pauses at the door before turning back to face me.

"We're all going to miss him, Four."

I stare back out the window at Lorien, and Six, rapidly fading away, "I know."

Six

The crowd is dead silent, and then the sobs start. Everyone staggers as if we've been struck, and One and I cling to each other.

"He died bravely," Lupa continued, eyeing our reaction, "Protecting Lorien from its enemies. He died as he lived, ever vigilant and fighting for his people."

I see tears running down Seven and Ella's faces, as well of everyone around me. Even Nine is watering up, and I angrily wipe my eyes with the back of my sleeve. But amidst all of this, despite crying herself, Two continues to look up at the empty sky.

"There has never been a sadder moment recorded in all of our history," Lupa started again, "But this is not the end of the tale. The Elder Matoran was also slain."

A collective moan rocks the plaza, and the sobs began anew. I see the tears glistening on Katarina's face, and I cling to One. I can't believe this is happening. Everyone respects and loves the Elders; they symbolize everything Lorien stands for. And Pittacus Lore…Great Lorien, why is this happening?

The screen zooms out to reveal the remaining Elders rising from their thrones, "There can be no greater pain than that of betrayal. It is a pain Lorien feels today, from every man and women to every child at home and the hearth."

"No…" Brandon whispers, and I shake my head as I catch on.

"No," I stutter to One, "No one would ever…"

I can't finish the thought but Lupa delivers it for me, "Yes, friends. Matoran and Pittacus Lore were murdered by a Loric citizen."

Four

I rest my head in my hands, images of my home filling my mind as we leave the only place I've ever known. I stiffen, as flashes of my final vision from last night race through my head. I grit my teeth and try to block it out with memories of Six, but shards break through. Eventually my mind becomes a furious clash of emotions and memories that I don't even understand anymore. I feel like my sanity is a glass panel, and someone has just shattered it into millions of fragments. Flashes race through my head, and I curl up against my bunk with my head in my hands, trying to block it all out.

I see my house, and then Six and I sitting in a tree together. Flashes of Mogadorians screaming as they crisp apart in Adamus' eruptions. My grandmother, smiling down at me with a plate of warm cookies. Pittacus, smashing through the plaza's fountain as he takes on all of the Elders for us. The smoldering handprint in the tree from my first Legacy. Setrakus Ra being yanked forward with a leash of lightning as Pittacus hurls Bariotick against the ground. Nine and I, running through the forest with the pack behind us. Elkin and Lupa screaming with fury as they feel Matoran's death blocks away. Laughing with the Ten over some stupid joke Nine made. Elkin smashing Pittacus to the ground as Lupa then dragged him up to his knees. An old man's face, his eyes boring into me desperately as he lunges forward. Matoran striding towards me with fury in his eyes. Sitting around a campfire with Brandon and Hadley. Lupa, whispering something maliciously in Pittacus' ear. Six, smiling at me, the sunlight making her hair glitter. And then the worst, Lupa impaling Pittacus with her dagger, smiling as she twisted it deeper, and deeper…

Six

"The killer was someone we all respected, and all loved," Lupa said solemnly, "Someone with great potential, and a bright future had they not fallen prey to corruption and darkness. Unlimited potential, once meant to guard Lorien, now turned against us. What was once to be our greatest prize is now the deadliest weapon turned against our throats. The killer…"

Lupa paused, and it seemed to me that her eyes burned into me as she sought the Ten out of the rest of the crowd.

"…Is Number Four." She finished, amid the uproar of fury.

Mu world spins around me, and One stumbles as she suddenly is forced to carry my entire weight. The other Loric yell and back away from us, leaving the Ten and our Cêpan in an isolated circle. They scream insults at us, but it all crashes over my head. All I can think about is Four, and how what they're accusing could never be true. I don't know how long I stay that way, reveling in my despair and simply letting Lupa's and the crowd's words was over me. But I lift my eyes to the sky when I hear Two gasp and then point, and then a wild roar fills my ears.

I look up, my hair blowing into my face, and see hundreds of Mogadorian warships descending down on us from the city skyline. I gasp, and Lupa's words suddenly swim back into focus as I behold this horror.

"…due to this state of newly-proclaimed emergency, the Elders have reached a difficult decision. It is our regret to inform you all that Lorien must undergo a security movement known as the Mogadorian Occupation to ensure its safety. We thank you for your support during this difficult time. And if you know anything about the whereabouts of these three individuals, please don't hesitate to contact one of…"

I block her out again as I see Four's face fill the screen alongside some monster and Sam Goode. The sight of the bold, red "wanted" sign under his picture makes the tears start fresh all over again. One rocks me back and forth, murmuring comforting words into my ear, as Five slowly rubs my back. I'm dimly aware of Sandor and Eight holding back a furious Nine, who's spitting venom at some Cêpan insulting us. I wish I could block out all of these tears, but I just can't stop crying, damn it. But while the tears don't stop, my mind is racing in constant. And I know deep in my heart, despite whatever "evidence" they bring, that Four would never do something like this. Never. And I swear I'll find who really did, and then bring Four home to me.

Four

I shudder as the images finally recede, and lay there looking at the glass sphere filled with that little piece of Lorien. I realize, that despite whatever brave front I may put on, I'm scared. I'm terrified for my family, for my parents. For Six, and the Ten. Lupa swore that I would lose them all, and I have no doubt that she would use them to get to me. But most of all, I'm scared for Lorien, for my home. Betrayed by its very guardians, beset on all sides by enemies. I think of the light at the plateau, surrounded by the shadow. It's fate now rests in our hands, against all odds. And that's terrifying. But I meant what I said to Matoran earlier: I'll be better. I'll train, strengthen myself. For Pittacus, and Six. I'll rise up, I'll fight for my home and those I love. And I swear, as the planet finally winks out of existence, that this is not the end. I _will_ return, and when I do, there will be nowhere for the Elders to hide.

**UP NEXT:**

**The story will continue in ****_The Power of Six: Earth 2_****!**

**A/N: Wow. I actually managed to finish this. Nearly a year in the making, with a long absence in the middle. A huge thank-you to everyone who stuck with this story and reviewed, you guys are the ones who really motivate me to keep writing. Also, a massively huge thank-you to Celeste K. Raven for editing my story, she's the reason I've managed to sneak off with so few SPAG errors. I know a lot of you guys probably wanted to read more about Pittacus' death in more detail-I promise there was a reason I was vague about it here. You will get a full recap/in-depth look at that scene in book two. There's a new ch up for the ****_The Fallen Legacies_**** companion story giving you a peek of what's to come as well, but after today I'm on a break. I'll use the time to write several chapters for book two, so I can release them on a regular schedule this time around, which I epically failed at with this one. Again, a huge thank to everyone who read the whole story, and remember that if you post at least 3 reviews on chapters 16 and up, you'll get an early preview of book 2 via PM.** **Thanks for sticking with me.**


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